UN prepares for landfall of tropical cyclone in Madagascar

Antananarivo, Feb 5 (IANS) The UN, Madagascar government, and partner agencies are preparing for the potentially devastating consequences of tropical cyclone Batsirai which is set to make landfall in the island nation on Saturday, said the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Batsirai is is expected to make in the area between Mahanoro and Mananjary, reports Xinhua news agency.

The landfall will have potentially devastating consequences for some of the most populated areas of the island nation, due to the combination of strong winds and extremely heavy rains, said OCHA.

Batsirai passed Mauritius on its path, leaving 1,600 households without electricity and one person dead, it said.

Preparedness efforts are intensifying in Madagascar and the government has begun preemptive evacuations in Mahanoro and Nosy Varika.

Schools have been closed and flights scheduled for Friday and Saturday have been cancelled.

Some 85 districts are on yellow alert while seven are on green alert, said the office.

Messages developed by the Unicef and the government's disaster management agency are being disseminated to communities likely to be affected by the storm on how to stay safe and avoid danger.

The UN Satellite Centre is monitoring the situation and aircraft, including those of the UN Humanitarian Air Service, have been placed on standby for immediate aerial assessments and response, said OCHA.

Humanitarian partners are urgently processing local purchases to increase their relief stocks, and humanitarian teams in eastern Madagascar are on standby to support the response, it said.

Relief efforts are continuing in response to the damage caused by the earlier tropical storm Ana that affected several countries in the region, said OCHA.