Madagascar: 65 Feared Dead in Tropical Storm

Antananarivo---At least 65 people are said to have died in Madagascar after tropical storm Irina lashed through south eastern coast of the mineral-rich island nation, weather authorities say.

Most of those said dead are residents of the eastern farming district of Ifanadiana 270km from the capital, Antananarivo, hit by the deadly storm’s heavy winds and rains at the weekend. The storm is later reported to have moved to the coasts of South Africa and Mozambique, killing one person in its sweep.

Three people are reported missing by the country’s national bureau of natural catastrophes on Monday, but did not provide any other details about the storm. This is the second time the storm has hit in Madagascar within a week, after it passed over its eastern shores last week, claiming one life.

"A tree fell on a house and the roof collapsed," killing an elderly man in Mozambique's southern Gaza province, said Rita Almeida, spokesperson for the national disaster agency.

In South Africa’s city of Durban, beaches were closed and ships ordered to remain in port as the wave reached three-metre, municipal spokesman Thabo Mofokeng said.

Madagascar is prone to cyclones and other tropical storms especially in the rainy season from February to May and costs dozens of lives every year.

Last month cyclone struck the port city of Tamatave, killing at least 35 people and left dozens others injured, among its several other destructions.

At least 80 people were killed in 2008 when cyclone Ivan hit Madagascar, displacing 200,000 others in its sweep.

Brazzaville, Congo

Blast Site Still Too Dangerous for Rescue Efforts

Rescue workers have said it is still dangerous to enter the site where ammunition stockpiles exploded in Republic of Congo’s capital, Brazzaville, as small detonations continued to rattle for a second day Monday in the fire that has killed hundreds and trapping countless others under the falling debris.

Firefighters managed to put out the main fire from the Sunday’s explosion and were working to extinguish smaller several smaller fires that were rendering the explosions in the second day of the incident. Officials say they were doing everything they could to avoid the fires from spreading to a second arms depot of war-grade weapons 100m away.

Rescue operations in search for survivors and to collect dead bodies have been hampered since rescuers are unable to gain full access in fear of unexploded devices scattered by the blast.

The death toll so far has risen to at least 213 and its feared it might get higher as rescuers begin clearing the debris from numerous destroyed buildings including two churches where people were attending service on Sunday.

Spokesman of the local chapter of the Red Cross Delphin Kibakidi say the aid agency has set up two camps inside churches in the capital, with some 600 people already registered, as many continue to flee neighbourhoods near the site of the explosion.

“Today we can estimate that there are tens of thousands of people that are without shelter on the streets,” he said. “for the time being, there are Russian, French and Congolese experts in the field who are trying to put out the fires. Their goal is to avoid that the fires reach a second depot of even heavier weapons.''

Government officials say the explosion at the arms depot in Mpili, eastern Brazzaville, which began around 08:00 local time, continuing into early afternoon, was caused by an electric short-circuit sparking the fire that led to the explosions whose effects were felt across the Congo River in the city of Kinshasa in the bordering Democratic Republic of Congo.

President Denis Sassou-Nguesso has described the incident as “a tragic accident” urging Congolese to show “courage and solidarity”.  Defence minister earlier appeared on state TV to assure people that the fire was not a sign of a coup or a mutiny.

Foreign ambassadors in the country including from the US and France met with government officials on Monday to discuss aid for the rescue efforts, as condolences and offers for help continued to pour in from around the world.

The US Embassy issued a statement saying it was ready to aid the government of the Republic of Congo in its efforts to assist victims of the tragedy.