Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD) is supporting people in Antalaha, Madagascar affected by Cyclone Indlaha. Antalaha is located 354 miles north of Madagascar’s capital, Antananarivo.

On Thursday March 15, Cyclone Indlaha swept through the town destroying buildings and infrastructure. The storm killed 12 people and left more than 14,000 others homeless. In the Sofia region, the storm caused the death of a young man who drowned while trying to save his mother from the rising waters of the Sofia River. A national electricity power station 99 miles east of Antananarivo was damaged, leaving residents without power or communication services.

“Many houses, churches and civil infrastructure were damaged due to the 59 mph wind gusts,” said the Rt. Rev. Roger Chung Po Chen, Bishop of Antsiranana, Madagascar.

ERD is working in partnership with the Diocese of Antsiranana to provide emergency assistance such as food, necessities, as well as seeds for replanting crops destroyed by the storms. “People in Madagascar stand in urgent need of support and helping them to replant crops is vital in the long term,” said Janette O’Neill, ERD’s Senior Program Director for Africa.

Recent tropical storms and cyclones have increased pressure on food security due to the island’s loss of more than one-third of its yearly rice production, with some areas losing 80 percent of their crops. In the Sambava region, rice plants have been flattened, and vanilla bean fields were destroyed by blown tree branches.  In the town of Ambilobe, most of the upcoming rice harvest was ruined with only 20,000 hectares of rice fields left undamaged after the Mahavany River overflowed its banks.

To help people affected by disasters, please make a donation to the “Emergency Relief Fund” online in the "Ways to Give" section, or call 1-800-334-7626, ext. 5129. Gifts can be mailed to: Episcopal Relief and Development “Emergency Relief Fund” P.O. Box 7058, Merrifield, VA 22116-7058.