February 17, 2008Cyclone Ivan hit the northeastern coast of Madagascar Sunday with winds up to 200 kilometers per hour and a sea surge that is expected to cause widespread damage.
"We are expecting major destruction along the coast and inland, and intense rain will cause severe flooding in important population centers. A major challenge will be reaching the people most affected," says Nick Webber, CARE's country director in Madagascar.
CARE has been in discussions with both the Government of Madagascar and the World Food Program, and has access to food supplies prepositioned by the Government and WFP. CARE has 140 staff members in the area, who will be doing their best to undertake immediate evaluations and fast delivery of emergency supplies in coordination with the PNGRC (Madagascar's National Office for Disaster and Risk Management).
Media contacts:
Didier Young, emergency coordinator in Madagascar,
Tel: +261 32 -078-1046
William Dowell in Geneva
+41 79 590 3047
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
A woman stands in front of the church of Puerto Ballivian on the outskirts of flooded Trinidad, some 500 km (310 miles) northeast of La Paz, February 15, 2008. Floods have ...
