Day: February 24, 2023

Highlights

• The number of people affected continues to rise with ongoing assessments (85,224 reported today).

• WFP has provided 53,320 hot meals since Tuesday in 56 shelters.

• In Vohipeno, WFP assisted 5,650 people with 5-day food rations thanks to prepositioned stock.

• WFP is supporting the government’s multisectoral rapid assessment in Nosy Varika & Mananjary District

Situation overview

• Tropical Cyclone Freddy is continuing to move away from the southern coasts and does not present ongoing danger to Madagascar.

WFP response

• WFP work in coordination and collaboration with the national authorities, BNGRC, Ministry of Population etc. during the crisis has been appreciated by the government.

• Hot meals: WFP has provided 53,320 hot meals since Tuesday in 56 shelters in Nosy Varika, Farafangana, Mananjary, Mahanoro and Manakara.

• HEB: High energy biscuits (HEB) are expected to arrive in the next days for distribution to most affected populations in remote communities (20 MT).

• Prepositioned food: Drawing on its 360 MT of prepositioned stock, WFP finished its distribution of 5-day food rations in Vohipeno, reaching 5,650 people.

• Food and cash assistance: To help populations recover from the disaster, WFP will provide cash-based transfers to 100,000 beneficiaries for up to 2 months and food assistance to 40,000 beneficiaries for 3 months. Distribution plans will be established following completion of rapid emergency assessments. WFP is partnering with ADRA (Manakara and Vohipeno), Accademis (Farafangana) and OIM (Mananjari).

• As lead of the ICT Sectoral Group, WFP successfully installed a VSAT at the BNGRC premises (Regional Operational Center in Manakara). Testing is ongoing to ensure internet connectivity through satellite is operational. The VSAT was provided by Blueline Network Provider through the Ministry of Digital Development, Post and Telecom (MNDPT).

Source: World Food Programme

HIGHLIGHTS

• The former Tropical Cyclone Freddy weather system made landfall in Mozambique’s Inhambane Province on 24 February as a moderate storm.

• After landing, the system is expected to weaken, but could bring extensive rainfall, with the risk of floods and landslides, to southern Mozambique and south-eastern Zimbabwe in the coming days.

• In Madagascar, 7 people have died and at least 79,000 are affected following Freddy’s passage.

• Response is already underway in Madagascar, while Mozambique and Zimbabwe have put in place preparatory measures for the weather system’s arrival

SITUATION OVERVIEW

The former Tropical Cyclone Freddy weather system made landfall in Mozambique—south of Vilanculos in Inhambane Province—on 24 February as a moderate tropical storm. The system is now expected to weaken over southern Africa but will continue to pose a serious rainfall threat to southern Mozambique and south-eastern Zimbabwe, according to Meteo France. It risks bringing months-worth of rainfall in the space of a few days, and has the potential to cause widespread flooding in areas that have saturated soils and high river basin levels, according to the World Meteorological Organization.

In Mozambique, flooding in central and southern Mozambique could affect up to 1.75 million people, according to the National Institute for Disaster Management in Mozambique, (INGD). The risk of severe flooding in the Limpopo river basin, in particular, has been highlighted by the Global Flood Awareness System (GloFAS), which anticipates that floods could be worse than during Cyclone Eloise in 2021.

In Madagascar, Tropical Cyclone Freddy has left at least 7 people dead and affected 79,000 people in several regions, including 22,500 displaced, according to the National Bureau of Risk and Disaster Management (BNGRC). It is estimated that Cyclone Freddy impacted more than 14,000 houses affected (3,079 flooded, 9,696 damaged and 1,206 totally destroyed), while 41 schools have been affected, with 6 classrooms totally destroyed, 37 partially destroyed and 79 roofless, leaving about 6,800 students out of school. According to preliminary findings from ongoing needs assessments, wind-related damages appear to have been limited to within approximately 30-50 kilometres around the landing point—which was in Mahela commune— with the impact zone stretching between the town of Mananjary and the commune of Ambahy, an area with approximately 13 to 15 municipalities, with about 115,000 inhabitants. Limited flooding has been observed, with UNOSAT identifying only about 16km2 of flooded lands within an analysed area of about 530 km2. However, substitution foods, such as fruits, that people consume during the lean season (February to April) have been damaged and figures related to the cyclone’s impact may rise in the days ahead as the assessments are completed.

Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs