More than 70,000 people were affected by Cyclone Batsirai in Madagascar. Josephine shared her experience with Humanity & Inclusion’s teams, which are conducting assessments in impacted communities.
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Josephine, 32, lives in Antanambao, a village in Mahanoro, which was one of the regions hit hardest by Batsirai. Like more than 60,000 other Malagasy people, she and her daughter were forced to leave their house and seek shelter elsewhere, knowing their home may not be there afterwards.
“The passage of the cyclone was particularly hard on me. On Friday evening, under torrential rain, my young daughter and I left our house very suddenly. We headed to the nearest hospital,” she says.
Josephine’s home would not withstand the strong winds, which reached 130 mph. Standing next to what remains of her home, toppled by the cyclone, she recounts her experience.
“When we came back, the damage was clear, my house is completely destroyed,” Josephine says. “Now we have nowhere to live. As I am a single mother, I will have to completely rebuild everything. I have not yet received any help. That's why I'm reaching out to those who can help us because we are totally destitute.”
Josephine and her daughter are one of many families met by Humanity & Inclusion’s team as they continue conducting their needs evaluation across the most devastated areas of the Atsinanana region since the cyclone hit. Speaking with people like Josephine will help the organization determine the next steps of its emergency response in Madagascar.