GENEVA, Feb 22, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - The UN warned Tuesday that authorities 
and aid workers were racing against the clock to protect people as Madagascar 
braces for its fourth tropical storm in as many weeks.

   Cyclone Emnati is expected to make landfall on southern Madagascar Tuesday 
evening -- just weeks after the island was lashed by Cyclone Batsirai on 
February 5, affecting some 270,000 people and claiming 120 lives.

   At the same time, some 21,000 people still remain displaced from when 
tropical storm Ana struck in late January.

   Another 5,000 were affected last week by tropical storm Dumako.

   "We are in a race against time to protect those who dealt with the fury of 
the first three extreme events from the impact of Emnati," Jens Laerke, 
spokesman for the UN humanitarian agency OCHA, told reporters in Geneva.

   The UN's World Food Programme (WFP) also said it was on an emergency 
footing.

   "We are obviously praying for the best, but preparing for the worst," WFP 
spokesman Tomson Phiri told reporters.

   The agency has been prepositioning food and non-food aid to roll out 
rapidly in the aftermath of the storm, Phiri said.

   The UN's World Meteorological Organization (WMO) describes Emnati as "a 
large and dangerous cyclone likely to cause considerable damage."

   Emnati had earlier been feared to strike with the strength of a category 3 
or 4 cyclone.

   But a WMO spokeswoman said it had been downgraded and was now expected to 
make landfall as a category 2 event. 

   Nonetheless, winds of up to 200 kilometres (120 miles) per hour were 
expected, she said.

   Flooding and landslides from pounding rian are the biggest threats.

   Laerke warned that the central and eastern regions that were badly hit by 
Batsirai would also likely be affected.

   He said that around $26 million (22 million euros) were needed simply to 
help respond to the needs in the aftermath of Batsirai over the next three 
months.

   Those requirements are"likely to rise further, based on the impact of the 
Emnati cyclone," he said.

   Ahead of the storm, the UN's Central Emergency Response Fund has allocated 
$2.5 million to help boost food and cash assistance, provide emergency 
healthcare, shelter and household items and water purification supplies, 
Laerke said.