Madagascar is bracing for Cyclone Batsirai, which is expected to hit the eastern regions of the Indian Ocean island on Saturday, posing a “very serious threat” to millions.
Residents in an impoverished country still recuperating from the catastrophic Tropical Storm Ana in late January huddled down ahead of the storm’s arrival.
Winds of up to 260 kilometres per hour (162 miles per hour) and waves as high as 15 meters were predicted by Meteo-France (50 feet).
It said Batsirai would likely make landfall Saturday afternoon as an intense tropical cyclone, “presenting a very serious threat to the area” after passing Mauritius and drenching the French island of La Reunion for two days with torrential rain.
Residents in the eastern coastal town of Vatomandry were stockpiling supplies in preparation for the storm.
“We have been stocking up for a week, rice but also grains because with the electricity cuts we can not keep meat or fish,” said Odette Nirina, 65, a hotelier in the seafront town of Vatomandry.
“I have also stocked up on coal. Here we are used to cyclones,” she told AFP.
Winds gusting over 50 kilometers per hour pounded Vatomandry town Saturday morning, followed by intermittent rain.
Sandbags have been used to reinforce corrugated iron roofs.
