United Nations System

Office of the Resident Coordinator – Madagascar

This report is issued by Madagascar UNCT and covers the period from 15 to 16 February 2011.

I. HIGHLIGHTS/KEY PRIORITIES

o On 16 February 2011, after reaching

the Mozambique Channel, cyclone
Bingiza was 100 km from the district of
Maintirano (West coast of
Madagascar). Bingiza, still a tropical
storm, is intensifying once back to the
sea. According to the weather forecast,
it is expected to hit again the South
West coast of Madagascar around 17
/18 February.

o As of 15 February, the National

Disaster Risk Management Office
(BNGRC) reports 6 people dead, 800
houses destroyed and 2,936 persons
made homeless, the majority of whom
are hosted by families and friends. Most of the cyclone victims are living in the districts of
Maroantsetra, Mandritsara, Antalaha and Soalala; detailed information is mapped in the annex.
Affected communities have already started rehabilitating their homes.

o Infrastructures: 12 schools and one hospital have been damaged in the two most affected
districts. However, children are back to school this morning.

o The two most affected districts (Mananara north and Maroantsetra) are still inaccessible by road.
Some logistics bottlenecks are foreseen for the delivery of relief assistance to these districts if the
roads or bridges collapse. In this case the only way to reach Bingiza victims will be by boat and
the travel time is estimated between 2 to 3 days from Toamasina.

o The 2 days joint aerial assessment mission conducted by CARE International and Ministry of
public works ended this afternoon. Initial findings are relatively positive as level of damages is
much less than expected. The most urgent need relate to shelters, food but also non food items
such as cooking utensils, hygiene and sanitation kits, etc... A meeting is called by the BNGRC on
Thursday 17 February morning to share the mission findings and recommendations with the
humanitarian actors.

o During the 14 February National Humanitarian Platform meeting chaired by the BNGRC, it was
agreed that the actual humanitarian response needs can be covered by the pre-positioned food
and non food items.

o As a follow up of the National Humanitarian Platform decision, the UNCT during its 15 February
extraordinary meeting decided to wait for the results to the aerial assessment expected 17
February to finalize its proposal of support the national authorities in case of need.

o The Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) met this afternoon with the view to review the situation.
From the reports received from the Malagasy Red Cross, the two NGOs CARE and Medair, the
HCT should get ready to support a possible humanitarian response strategy in case the situation
deteriorates with the possible return of Bingiza in the South West Coast of Madagascar.

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II. Humanitarian Needs and Response

Emergency Shelter and Camp coordination

Needs: According to information from various sources some 2,936 people have been made homeless by
cyclone Bingiza
Response: DRR Local Committees have used schools and administrative buildings to accommodate
people. The Malagasy Red Cross is ensuring camp coordination and is continuing to collect data on the
number of IDPs in the affected areas.
Key gaps in responses: The 800 households who lost their home have also lost all their belongings
(food and NFIs). Further assessment is needed to identify these people most immediate needs.

Education

Needs: So far 12 schools have been damaged.

Response: Education cluster has moved its stocks to the nearest district in the affected area for eventual
distribution.

Food security

According to the aerial survey, some crops have been damaged by the wind and the heavy rains. Further
assessment is needed to have a better idea of the extend of the damages.

If needs are confirmed, WFP, in collaboration with its partners (CARE International and MEDAIR), is
planning to provide immediate relief to the affected populations. Commodities stored in Toamasina
warehouse (300 MT) and/or prepositioned in the area (400 MT) could be then used.

Logistics

Needs and challenges: The partial destruction of roads and bridges will certainly contribute in further
isolating localities that have been hit by the cyclone, making it difficult for humanitarian actors to deliver
food and NFIs. Proposal has been made to make use of small boats to reach those in need.

Responses: The first aerial assessment was conducted from Monday 14 to Wednesday 16. The "Corps
de Protection Civile" team, in collaboration of BNGRC, was able to reach by road the district of Mananara
North. A helicopter based in South Africa is on stand-by and could be deployed within 72 hours with
UNHAS support .

Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene

Before the cyclone, only 5% of the population had access to safe water. Needless to say that the situation
has worsened in these localities; in close collaboration with NGOs, UNICEF has moved its stocks initially
prepositioned in Tamatave to the nearest district in the affected area. These items will be deployed in the
affected districts in the coming days.

III. Coordination

o According to the meteorological forecasts, the pre-position of BNGRC teams in the field has proven to
be extremely useful to quickly reach the most affected districts and to support the assessment and
response in the affected districts.

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 o The first meeting of the National Humanitarian Platform chaired by BNGRC took place on 14th
February. The next meeting will be held on 17 February to share the joint aerial assessment mission
conclusions and recommendations.

o An UNCT extraordinary meeting was held on 15 February to review the UN response capacity.

o If case of need the possibility for the UNCT to contact UNSPIDER services to get satellite pictures to
support the humanitarian response strategy exists.

o A draft proposal is also being prepared by the UN for eventual submission to the Emergency Cash
Grant if national capacity cannot respond to the most urgent humanitarian needs.

IV. Funding

USAID funded the first aerial assessment.

All humanitarian partners including donors and recipient agencies are encouraged to inform
OCHA's Financial Tracking Service (FTS) (http://fts.unocha.org) of cash and in-kind
contributions by sending an email to: fts@un.org

V. Contacts in Madagascar

Ms Fatma Samoura, Resident Coordinator reachable until Wednesday 16 February evening.

Fatma.samoura@undp.org . Tel+ 261 33 15 00 870

Then
Mr. Bruno Maes, UNICEF Representative and RC a.i from Thursday 17 to Monday 28 February.
bmaes@unicef.org. Tel + 261 331 13 99 36- +261 320 53 99 36

Rija Rakotoson, Humanitarian Affairs Officer,

rakotoson@un.org, +261 32 05 076 93

Pierre Gelas, Regional Humanitarian Affairs Officer,

gelas@un.org, +254 733 721 051

For more information, please visit www.reliefweb.int.

To be added or deleted from this SitRep mailing list, please email rakotoson@un.org or visit
www.ochaonline.org/countryx

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Annex.