Madagascar: in Mananjary, inhabitants who lost everything after the passage of Batsirai
Audio 01:30
Men try to clear the ruins of a house after Cyclone Batsirai hit Mananjary on February 9, 2022. AFP - RIJASOLO
Text by: Sarah Tétaud Follow
4 mins
Last Saturday, Madagascar was hit by Batsirai.
According to the latest official figures, this intense tropical cyclone caused 120 deaths and nearly 125,000 victims across the island.
In Mananjary, this coastal town hit hard, 90% of the houses and buildings were damaged.
However, life seems to have resumed its course.
Residents go about their business.
Only the rubble and the incessant noise of hammers and shovels attest to the disaster that struck the city.
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With our special correspondent in Mananjary,
Under the rubble of her house, Marie-Yolande, a donut seller, has just found a pot.
So, she thinks, maybe the lid isn't far off.
Using a shovel, the mother digs the ground, her gaze vague.
“
Here, there, it was my house.
This too was mine.
Everything was destroyed.
I have to buy wood, palm leaves for the roof, nails.
But I don't have any spare money.
Marie-Yolande is not complaining.
Almost everyone around her is in the same situation.
First cash distribution
Two kilometers away, a huge crowd gathers in front of the Tanambao public school.
The World Food Program has just launched its first cash distribution.
Two thousand households selected according to the importance of the damage in their house must receive today 100,000 ariary, the equivalent of 22 euros.
After a four-hour queue, Florine, 54, comes out with her hand clutching the brand new banknotes she has just received.
For this mother of four children, this money is vital.
“
My house was completely destroyed.
I lost everything.
Pots, clothes, papers.
We have nothing left.
With this money, I will buy food and notebooks for the children.
Because they have been soaked and are no longer usable.
»
Rebuilding her house, she doesn't think about it yet.
“
What could I do it
with? ” she asks with a smile.
Barefoot, Florine goes to find her children in one of the six community halls made available for the victims.
“We have lost everything here”
Raymond, 87, walks on a field of ruins.
Under his feet, the roof of his house, collapsed, like all those of his family members around.
“
That was my grandson's house.
This is the roof of my house.
My things are still underneath, buried
,” he explains.
“
There are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 in all.
which have been destroyed.
Everything destroyed.
We can't do anything anymore.
»
Saturday evening, gusts at 240 km / h engulfed the city.
The houses by the sea lasted only a few hours.
With his ten children and 66 grandchildren, Raymond took refuge in one of the shelters in the town.
“
We were able to bring the pots, and then some clothes.
That's all.
»
Report from Mananjary, devastated by the cyclone
Sarah Tetaud
In the early morning, the spectacle is terrible.
“
We were able to recover some linens.
There is everything that has been taken from the sand, in the earth.
Pillow, pants, shirt, all that.
The laundry for the mass, that's all over.
The suit, there's more, it's over.
That's it.
»
So, like a bottle in the sea, Raymond turns to one of his brothers, residing in France.
“
Franck, if you can hear me, it's Raymond, in Mananjary.
If you can send something what... We lost everything here.
The sea rose and completely destroyed the house.
»
The “Garden of the Sea” under the sand
Less than a kilometer away, an almost lunar landscape.
The "Jardin de la mer", this hotel establishment prized for its lush greenery is unrecognizable.
None of the permanent buildings resisted.
“
Today my garden is swallowed up by 2
meters of sand.
It shows the violence of Batsirai, waves.
»
In one of the rooms, Roseline, the owner, stored everything that her employees were able to recover.
“
They spent at least three days digging up the kitchen, they were still able to recover the dishes, a few cups, glasses.
»
Faced with the chaos and the immensity of the task ahead, the septuagenarian does not flinch: “
Today, I think that the most urgent thing is to be able to clean up the site.
There will be a chainsaw coming from Tana.
We're going to cut up everything that has to be cut, we're going to throw away everything that needs to be thrown away, we're going to clean up, afterwards, we're going to completely destroy the restaurant, and I have to restore the five rooms.
Don't let me give up.
It is a magical place.
»
The Malagasy State has appealed for international assistance.
In Mananjary, which has had neither water nor electricity for a week, humanitarian aid is being put in place.
►Also read: After the passage of cyclone Batsirai, desolation and resilience in Mananjary
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