Photo: CNN
The European Commission’s humanitarian agency has confirmed that at least 80 people were killed in Africa, and tens and thousands were greatly affected this week following the hit of Tropical Cyclone Ana.
The European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) has reported that Madagascar, a country known for its severe drought, has 41 deaths recorded so far, with over 110,000 people impacted. The organization didn’t give much detail on where the huge impact took place.
The South African Weather Service just issued a statement that Ana has made landfall in Angoche, Mozambique, on Monday, affecting Malawi and Madagascar as well.
ECHO has announced that approximately 15 people died, and over 45,000 have been impacted in Mozambique. Malawi, on the other hand, declared that 11 are killed with about 217,000 individuals being affected.
Rivers in the region are overflowing due to heavy rainfall. The reports say that many people have been killed by floods and landslides, with extensive damage.
Although Ana has decreased in intensity, Malawi and Zambia could still expect heavy showers over the weekend, says the South African Weather Service.
The World Food Programme has said that they have seen “catastrophic” consequences from this natural disaster. The most prominent is the loss of life and livelihoods for millions in Africa, where agricultural land was heavily damaged due to flooding caused by record rainfall, which left many homes wrecked.
“Southern African countries have been repeatedly struck by severe storms and cyclones in recent years that have impacted food security, destroyed livelihoods and displaced large numbers of people,” she further said.
The ongoing drought in Africa has been joined by a growing intensity of rainfall, setting off devastating floods across the continent for the past few years.
The Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change recently reported that as climate change continues to raise the temperature of Earth, Africa will undergo more frequent heavy rain events. This is projected especially in Southern African countries like Madagascar, where droughts are already becoming severe due to its proximity with Asia, which has warmer temperatures.
