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Southern Africa: Floods and Cyclones Update (as of 16 Jan 2015)

Countries
Malawi
+ 4 more
Sources
OCHA
Publication date

Madagascar

Chedza is currently making landfall over the western coast of Madagascar as a moderate tropical cyclone, and is forecasted cross the island as a tropical depression before exiting over the east-central coast on 17 January. See attached map. Heavy rains are already being reported across the country, including over the capital Antananarivo, where preliminary estimates indicate that around 15,000 people are in need of temporary shelter. The situation is exacerbated by already high river levels and soil saturation from previous weeks of rains. A number of districts are on alert and multi-agency assessment teams have deployed to the most at-risk areas.

Malawi

According to the first UN Resident Coordinator’s Situation Report on the floods, the number of people displaced has increased to an estimated 106,000.

Reporting and coordination is being strengthened as emergency operations centres are being established, and a multi-sectoral response plan is being developed. Government will be issuing daily reports on the situation.

Mozambique

The flood situation in the central and northern provinces of Mozambique is worsening as rains are forecasted to continue to fall. More information on number of people affected and displaced is expected in the coming days. Search and rescue operations are underway, and coordination systems are being strengthened.

Rodrigues

Tropical Cyclone Bansi is currently over the autonomous outer island of the Republic of Mauritius, Rodrigues, situated about 560 km east of Mauritius. Bansi is currently a very intense Category 4 Tropical Cyclone. Rodrigues has a population of about 42,000. Warnings have been issued to residents and the situation is being closely monitored.

Mauritius

Tropical cyclone Bansi passed about 250 km north-east of Mauritius, bringing with it strong winds and heavy rains. The impact has been less than initially feared and most people have left evacuation centers and returned home. While damage to infrastructure has been reported, at this stage the situation appears within the capacity of local authorities to respond.

Southern Africa Forecast

Rainfall is expected to continue over the entire region over the next week, although not as heavily over currently flood-affected areas of northern and central Mozambique and southern Malawi. The areas expected to receive the most rainfall include most of Angola, Tanzania and Zambia, northern and central Malawi, Madagascar and Mauritius. The flood situation may therefore worsen across southern Africa over the coming days and weeks.

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs: To learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit https://www.unocha.org/.