Once again, the Ikongo district in the southeast of the island finds itself isolated from the rest of the world. After the passage of strong tropical storm Alvaro on January 1, this area suffered – less than a week later – torrential rains which killed at least 8 people and caused significant damage.
2 mins
With our correspondent in Antananarivo, Sarah Tétaud
The population, which was already struggling to recover from the various cyclones of previous years, must face this new upheaval alone: access to the district is now only on foot or by motorbike.
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On site, there are bridges washed away by floods, roads cut by landslides, flooded plots. “ It is a disaster », says Andry, a farmer from Mangarivotra, in the center of the district, soberly by telephone. Four of his six hectares of cultivation were devastated by water. “ We have no more food, we need help », continues this father.
“ We have no more food, no more provisions, no more seeds either »
Nirana, a resident of Tsarakianja in the south, describes scenes of apocalypse: zebus swept away by the waves, houses ravaged by floods. With her husband, she shelters ten of her neighbors who lost their homes. “ We have no more food, no more provisions, no more seeds either », laments the farmer.
A dismay relayed by Ikongo MP Jean-Brunelle Razafitsiandraofa: “ The situation is very serious. I have received a lot of complaints saying that the rice fields are all destroyed, the crops damaged. Therefore, the general population needs help, especially in terms of seeds, since each farmer will have to renew their crops. »
The destruction of crops and the impossibility of transporting basic necessities and food by road raise another problem, explains Silvien Auerbach, head of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), one of the rare humanitarian actors to have a forward base in the area.
“ The nutritional situation in the Ikongo district is generally poorhe explains. The latest malnutrition and food insecurity survey shows high crisis levels in certain municipalities, so it remains a major problem in the area. And bad weather, inevitably, raises the concern of accessibility and worsens the overall situation of access to food. Usually, in this area, providing assistance is difficult. But there, in these conditions, it is even more so “.
While waiting for relief and aid from the State, the population of Ikongo is gritting their teeth, as they often do.