Madagascar on alert for heavy rainfall, damaging winds from Tropical Cyclone Belna

Even after landfall, Belna will bring dangerous impacts to Madagascar into the middle of the week.

Late Monday, Belna made landfall in the vicinity of Soalala in Madagascar as a tropical cyclone with the equivalent strength of a Category 1 hurricane in the Atlantic or Eastern Pacific basins.

On Tuesday, officials announced that the cyclone had been the cause of at least nine deaths, and forcing over 1,000 people to evacuate their homes.

The above visible satellite image shows Belna closing in on Madagascar on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2019. (Image/CIRA RAMMB)

Belna has since weakened and is being referred to as an over-land depression in the western part of the country.

A continued southward track will put western and southern Madagascar at risk for flooding and mudslides from heavy rainfall into Wednesday. The risk of damaging winds has lessened since Belna has weakened.

The hardest-hit locations along the western half of Madagascar can expect 150-300 mm (6-12 inches) of rainfall with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 500 mm (20 inches).

Belna may continue to bring showers through the middle of the week, but will continue to become a smaller tropical system, bringing lesser and lesser impacts.