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Flooding kills 14, displaces 24,000 in Madagascar

Friday, 27 February 2015 6:22 PM [ Last Update: Friday, 27 February 2015 6:22 PM ]

People cross a flooded road in the Sabotsy Namehana commune, north of Antananarivo, after heavy rains hit Madagascar on February 14, 2012. © AFP

At least 14 people have died and more than 24,000 have been driven out of their homes due to flooding in Madagascar’s capital, Antananarivo, and the surrounding areas.

In a statement on Friday, Madagascar’s emergency management bureau said people from several neighborhoods have been evacuated.

“Due to the emergency, we call on all schools, churches, town halls, covered gymnasiums and those of good will to facilitate the sheltering of victims,” the bureau said.

Fifty houses have collapsed as three rivers burst their banks near the capital and a number of dams broke, the statement said.

People are using wooden canoes and speedboats to leave the flooded areas as Madagascan authorities are expecting more damages in the coming days because of further heavy rains.

“Because of problems with the drainage system in the city, it is hard to channel the waters and the pumping stations are running at full capacity,” said Philippe Rateloson, head of Antananarivo’s authority in charge of protection against flooding.

Ceaseless rains have been falling in Antananarivo and its surrounding areas since February 14.

Last month, eighty people were killed in Madagascar as tropical storm Chedza crossed the large Indian Ocean island.

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