Antananarivo: Southern Africa has been hit by flooding that has left more than 70 dead across the region in the wake of Tropical Storm Ana. Madagascar has seen at least 48 deaths and 130,000 people have been forced to flee their homes to makeshift shelters.
In Malawi, at least 11 people have died. The country has suffered a nationwide power cut and some areas have been declared disaster zones. Mozambique, meanwhile, has reported 18 deaths. But officials there say the true number is still unknown, with 20,000 affected by the flooding. In Mozambique, Ana destroyed 10,000 homes and dozens of schools and hospitals, while downing power lines.
Heavy rain and thunderstorms have continued to hit some regions even after the storm's passage, contributing to the flooding. Prime Minister Carlos Agostinho do Rosário said that his country was not begging for help - but the challenge was bigger than any one country's ability to tackle it. And he pointed to the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events.
"We are a country that does not contribute much for climate change, and yet we are one of the countries that suffer the most from its impact," he said. He has called for international aid - and Unicef, the United Nations children's charity, said it was deploying staff to the country to help the 45,000 people it estimated will need humanitarian aid.
UN Resident Coordinator in Mozambique, Myrta Kaulard, said "vulnerability is very, very high. The challenge is titanic, the challenge is extreme," she said. Floods hit electricity infrastructure as well as homes, leaving beleaguered towns in darkness as the water rose.
