Tropical cyclone Batsirai after battering Mauritius is moving westwards towards Madagascar. According to a report by news agency AFP, Batsirai was 250 kilometres east of Madagascar earlier today morning. The news agency citing Meteo-France weather agency said that Batsirai’s expected landfall would be between late afternoon and evening on Saturday.
The forecaster outlined that Cyclone Batsirai presented a serious threat to the region. “Winds could reach more than 200 or even 250 km/h… at the point of impact and waves could reach as high as 15 metres (50 feet),” the forecaster said further adding that the eye of the storm will cross the centre of the island overnight into Sunday and may leave its western shores by Monday.
This is the second bout of natural disaster that the island has faced after it was battered by Tropical Storm Ana in January earlier this year. Residents, according to AFP, are taking all preparations to weather Batsirai. Jens Laerke, spokesman for the UN’s humanitarian organisation OCHA warned that Batsirai will have a significant impact on the Indian Ocean island. “We anticipate a significant impact in Madagascar, including in areas that are still recovering from Tropical Storm Ana in late January,” Laerke said.
The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) expressed concern that more than 595,000 people risk being directly affected by Batsirai, and 150,000 more could be displaced when the tropical cyclone strikes the island nation. When Tropical Storm Ana struck in January, 58 people were killed in capital Antananarivo and more than 131,000 people were affected.
Residents speaking to news agencies said they were bracing themselves ahead of Batsirai’s landfall. Ampasipotsy Gare resident Tsarafidy Ben Ali said that he was reinforcing his corrugated iron sheet roof with bags filled with soil. “The gusts of wind are going to be very strong. That’s why we’re reinforcing the roofs,” Ali was quoted as saying by news agency AFP.
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