I. HIGHLIGHTS/KEY PRIORITIES
· Giovanna made landfall on the eastern coast of Madagascar at 2.00 a.m. on 14 February 2012 as a category 4 tropical cyclone and exited the western coast of the island at 4.00 p.m. the same day.
· The districts of Moramanga, Brickaville and Vatomandry in eastern Madagascar are the most
affected areas. An aerial assessment of the sectoral impact of Giovanna on affected areas started on Wednesday 15 February.
· According to preliminary figures, 16 people died and 65 other were injured. To date 1,950 people were displaced of whom 525 from the Capital City Antananarivo and 1,425 in the rest of the country.
· One hospital, 4 health centers and 5 schools have been seriously damaged most of them are located in Brickaville.
· Main roads suffer minor damages and most of them have been since reopened to traffic
II. Situation Overview
Giovanna made landfall on the eastern coast of Madagascar in the early hours of Tuesday 14 February 2012 as a category 4 tropical cyclone, it lost intensity as it crossed the island and was a category 1 tropical cyclone as it passed the capital Antananarivo. Giovanna exited the island’s western coast later on same afternoon. Its effects were felt in the Western region until early morning of Wednesday 15 February 2012.
Preliminary assessments indicate limited damages caused by heavy winds and torrential rains which accompanied the passing of Giovanna. In addition to Antananarivo, Moramanga, Brickaville and Vatomandry in eastern Madagascar are the most seriously affected districts. Other isolated areas are currently being assessed by air.
Response teams have been already deployed by humanitarian actors including UNICEF and WFP, in order to support the efforts of the National office for disaster risk management (BNGRC) and
the local disaster risk reduction (DRR) committees.
In Antananarivo, national authorities are monitoring the water levels of the five main rivers surrounding the capital, which are expected to increase, but not to level of alert, in the next 24 hours. The National Meteorological Service has reported that the weather conditions will improve in the coming days.
III. Humanitarian Needs and Response
EDUCATION
Needs: In the district of Brickaville, three primary schools and two secondary education centers have been damaged.
Response: The Education Cluster has proposed the deployment of a joint team, which will include the Ministry of Education at local level and UNICEF, to assess initial needs and provide relief assistance in the districts of Moramanga, Brickaville and Vatomandry.
EMERGENCY SHELTER
Needs: In Antananarivo, 525 displaced people are still being hosted in temporary shelters. In the rest of the country, around 1,400 people would be still displaced. Initial assessments indicate a lack of sanitation facilities in some temporary shelters.
Response: BNGRC provided relief items to displaced people in the district of Brickaville, including tents, hygiene kits and mosquito nets. Information at this stage is limited. The Malagasy Red Cross Society currently registering displaced people in all affected areas. The Health Cluster has already deployed teams to temporary shelters for the provision of medical care.
EMERGENCY TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND LOGISTICS
Needs: No major infrastructures have been damaged and all main roads are open. Nevertheless, some national and secondary roads in the eastern region require rehabilitation.
Response: The Logistic Cluster, with support from OCHA/RCO (Resident Coordinator Office), agreed to provide support for the initial needs assessment. One helicopter, hired by CARE International, left on 15 February for an initial 2-day aerial assessment of affected areas in the eastern regions. In addition to that an aircraft chartered by Medair airlifted relief items and technical staff to Toamasina to support DRR local committees in initial assessments. A second helicopter from the mining company Ambatovy is kept on standby in case of a need. An inventory of available warehousing capacity has been already done by the Logistics Cluster in the affected areas.
Gaps & Constraints: Accessibility to several communes remains a challenge for conducting initial
assessments missions and providing relief assistance.
FOOD SECURITY AND LIVELIHOODS
Needs: It is still too early to estimate the impacts of Giovanna on agricultural production. In Brickaville, all commercial crops, i.e. banana, litchi and sugar cane, have been seriously damaged.
Response: A total of 8,154.3 tons of food and 24.5 tons of rice seeds have been pre-positioned throughout the country. The Food Security Cluster met on 15 February to plan and coordinate the forthcoming activities of the sector. BNGRC already purchased in local markets 7 tons of rice and 2 tons of cereal, to be distributed to displaced people in Brickaville. A WFP team has been deployed to Moramanga, Brickaville, Vatomandry and Mahanoro to conduct to a rapid needs assessment mission. A meeting of the food security and livelihood cluster, co-chaired by FAO and WFP, will be held during the week starting 20 February 2012 to determine the extent of the assessment among other topics.
Gaps & Constraints: Further assessments will be undertaken to determine the impact of Giovanna on food security and agricultural production.
NUTRITION
Needs: Not known at present.
Response: Flyers for the promotion of exclusive breast feeding has been sent to partners for distribution. Current stock of CRENI/CRENAS being estimated and supply packages made up to meet the immediate needs. National Ministry of Health staff ready for deployment to support the CRENI in Brickaville, Vatomandry and Mahanoro.
HEALTH
Needs: The Tropical Cyclone Giovanna damaged the roof of the main hospital in Brickaville, which still remains operational. In addition, two health centers were damaged and other two destroyed in other affected locations.
Response: The Health Cluster is supporting the Ministry of Health and national inspectors in sectoral assessments. Furthermore, the NGOs Médecins du Monde (MDM), Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) and WHO visited two temporary shelters in Antananarivo to assess health conditions of displaced people. UNICEF is also deploying an assessment team to Moramanga.
PROTECTION
Needs: some of the temporary shelters in Antananarivo are overcrowded and not fitted with sanitation facilities. Protection concerns have been identified, in particular regarding unaccompanied minors and gender-based violence.
Response: The Protection Cluster is closely monitoring the situation in temporary shelters. The WASH Cluster (co-led by Ministry of Water and UNICEF) is already setting up temporary latrines in at shelters in Antananarivo.
Gaps & Constraints: Registration activities should be reinforced in temporary shelters to analyze specific needs of displaced people.
WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE (WASH)
Needs: Not known at present.
Response: The WASH Cluster has already mobilized partners in different areas to compile initial information on needs, as follows:
· The Malagasy Red Cross Society (MRCS) sent two water purification units to Brickaville and
Vatomandry, and mobilized 21 local volunteers in these localities. MRCS deployed technical experts and equipments to these areas to improve the cleaning of water sources.
· UNICEF deployed staff to coordinate response activities of WASH cluster in the field. In
Antananarivo, UNICEF provided water to those displaced.
· - The Fondation Saint Grabriel (FSG) sent 5,000 WASH kits provided by UNICEF to Brickaville and mobilized 31 staffs support to the local DRR committees in rapid assessments, setting-up sanitation infrastructures in temporary shelters, water supplies and cleaning of water sources.
· Catholic Relief Services (CRS) prepositioned 1,500 family WASH kits to be distributed in Brickaville and Moramanga, and if necessary in Toamasina. CRS will support also the local DRR committees in rapid needs assessment.
Coordination
The BNGRC emergency teams deployed prior the arrival of the Tropical Cyclone Giovanna have been
relocated to the most affected areas.
The Logistics Cluster, with support from OCHA/RCO, met late on 14 February to coordinate the initial aerial assessment and identify the most affected areas. One helicopter chartered by CARE International and one aircraft provided by MEDAIR were mobilized. Another helicopter, from the mining company Ambatovy, is in stand-by.
Funding
On 15 February, at the CRIC meeting with humanitarian partners, the BNGRC announced that the
Government does not intend to launch an appeal for international support, as there is enough resources incountry to respond to this emergency, which presents much localized impact, with the support of partners.
Based on these preliminary findings, the UNCT will not seek international support an appeal. Any additional funding requests will be based on specific needs recommended by the ongoing rapid needs assessment mission. The UNCT has decided to undertake the immediate transfer of pre-positioned stocks in the most affected area in order to support the national response.
Contact
Please contact:
Fatma Samoura, UN Resident Coordinator
Fatma.samoura@undp.org, Phone : +261 34 480 0780
Narciso Rosa-Berlanga, Regional Humanitarian Affairs Officer,
rosa-berlanga@un.org, Phone: +261 33 743 2514
Rija Rakotoson, Humanitarian Affairs Officer,
rakotoson@un.org, Phone: +261 33 150 7693
For more information, please visit www.reliefweb.int.
To be added or deleted from this sit rep mailing list, please e-mail: rakotoson@un.org
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