Chalane, the name of the system, formed on December 19th in the middle of the Indian Ocean, more than 1,500 km from the Big Island. It is expected to make landfall on Sunday morning in the north-east of the island. The authorities are on alert to prepare the population as best they can for the consequences of the storm.
At the meteorological office in Madagascar’s capital, Antananarivo, forecasters are scanning their screens. According to the head of the forecasting services, Rivo Randrianarison, the cyclone system intensified 24 hours ago, giving more information on its evolution:
“We now know that this storm will have a direct impact on the Sava region (the vanilla region, editor’s note), in the north-east and centre-east of Madagascar. What is certain is that the rainfall will be really very abundant during the impact, during the day of Sunday 27 December. Flooding is to be feared. Rainfall of more than 100mm is expected on Sunday, which corresponds to extreme rainfall events for the impacted areas. Gusts are also expected to be between 100 and 120 km at the time of impact.’’
If the risk of a cyclone is avoided, forecasters do not rule out the possibility that the system could reach the “Strong Tropical Storm” stage.
The National Office for Disaster Risk Management is on the alert. Andry Razafimandimby, the director of Cervo (Centre for Study, Reflection, Monitoring and Guidance), recalls the usual instructions and precautions:
“Take shelter from flood-prone areas, protect houses with sandbags, fortify the house walls, and then evacuate to higher ground if you live in a flood-prone area. Above all, shelter valuables such as paperwork, books, school supplies, schoolbooks and schoolbooks, and stock up on food and candles in case there is a road cut and supplies become difficult to obtain.’’
The vortex of the system is scheduled to go out to sea on the east coast in the Melaky region early next week.