Madagascar is the country most exposed to cyclones in Africa and the third most vulnerable country in the world to the effects of climate change. On average, 1.5 cyclones a year cross Madagascar, generally affecting two thirds of the country.

Humanity has always lived with the threat of natural hazards, but the past four decades have seen a quadrupling of hydro-meteorological disasters. Rising sea-levels are putting more and more communities around the globe in the firing line of superstorms and their related floods, storm-surges and landslides, while grinding periods of drought or unseasonal cold snaps hit farmers hard.

Understanding past disasters is critical to help countries brace for future hazards, and UNISDR had already supported the Government of Madagascar to set up an online disaster loss database where over 2,200 disasters of different magnitudes have been recorded, covering the period from 1982 to 2015. The database shows that while cyclones constitute less than 40 percent of recorded disasters, over two-thirds of mortality and 90 percent of the affected population can be attributed to this single hazard type.

BGNRC and the Institute and Geophysical Observatory of Antananarivo (IOGA) – the technical department responsible for alerts concerning geological hazards housed in the Department of Science of the University of Antananarivo -- work closely to develop tools to raise awareness, prevent disasters and conduct field assessments. Mr. Venty noted that once it was clear that the cyclone would hit Madagascar, the population was informed of the evolution of its strength, directions, and localization to reduce risk of loss of lives and livelihoods.

“We used various communication channels such as radio, television, mobile messaging services, and key informants in the communities, among others defined in the regional and national contingency plan, to inform the population and advise all communities of the actions they should take for each level of cyclone alert,” he explained.  In addition to this strategy of information, education and communication which has highly improved the population’s awareness, teams from the national level were sent to support all local authorities and stakeholders’ efforts to be well prepared to face the cyclone.

Madagascar’s Disaster and Risk Management Act, amended in February 2016 to include an updated strategy on disasters and risk management, was validated by the government in September 2016. The two documents are based on the  Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, a global agreement adopted in 2015, and on good practices documented over time.