Tropical Cyclone Jasmine Hits Madagascar and Mozambique: At Least One Person Killed

Southeast Africa has been hit by another storm as the so-called Tropical Cyclone Jasmine recently struck Madagascar and Mozambique, killing at least one person and resulting in the disappearance of three other people.

Tropical Cyclone Jasmine

With a maximum wind speed of 102 km/h, Tropical Cyclone Jasmine caused relatively low humanitarian impact yet minimum damage to Southeast Africa, according to the Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System (GDACS), a joint initiative by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) and the European Commission (EC).

Jasmine made landfall near the city of Tolliara, Astimo-Andrefana Region, in Southwest Madagascar on Tuesday evening, April 26, according to the EC's Directorate General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), as cited by the news site Farmers Review Africa.

The ECHO stated that Jasmine, which was already a tropical depression, was located over Tsivory Commune in the Anosy Region, Southern Madagascar, with maximum sustained winds of 53 kilometers per hour (km/h).

The strong winds were accompanied by heavy rain and large waves due to a potential storm surge in Southeast Madagascar, threatening coastal areas.

Fatality and Missing Persons

All of the said victims were near the city with multiple houses and roads damaged.

The one fatality occurred in Toliara-Ville when a young man fell while fixing the roof of his house in the Mahavatse suburb. The man eventually died in the hospital due to suspected sustained injuries from the fall.

Moreover, the reported disappearances involved three fishermen who were attempting to park their canoes near the town of Ambohitsabo, as per the local source L'Express De Madagascar.

Prior to the landfall of Jasmine, Madagascar has mobilized all of its sectors for the purpose of natural disaster preparedness.

There were no immediate reports of other casualties or damage at this time.

Short-Range Forecast

Although Jasmine has relatively weakened and moves further away into the region, there were reported concerns that the storm may hit the south of the Nampula Province, Mozambique, this week.

However, Madagascar's Natural Disaster Management Agency reportedly stated that Tropical Cyclone Jasmine has been forecasted to reach the southern portion of the Indian Ocean as a tropical storm on Wednesday, April 27, and dissipate on Thursday, April 28, as cited by Farmers Review Africa.

GDACS Storm Impact

The GDACS designated Jasmine a storm impact score of 0.5 under its "Green Alert" category, as a basis and measurement for the weather system's intensity.

The Green Alert is the lowest of the three levels, with the "Orange Alert" being the second, and the "Red Alert" being the strongest.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Tropical Cyclone Jasmine was getting closer to the island country of Reunion as a tropical depression, according to Meteo-France La Reunion, as cited by France TV.

SADC Region Storms

The passage of Jasmine comes after five consecutive tropical cyclones by the name of Ana, Batsirai, Dumako, Emnati, and Gombe hit the southern African Development Community (SADC) region between January and March.

The said storms have caused widespread disruption to travel, businesses, and casualties.

Ana left 58 people dead between January 22 and January 25; Batsirai with 121 fatalities between January 27 and February 9; Dumako with 14 between February 13 and February 16; Emnati with 15 between February 16 and February 24; and Gombe with one death between March 7 and March 12, as per GDACS.