Madagascar flood victims struggle to pick up the pieces

MAROVOAY, Madagascar: Muddy currents have submerged parts of the town of Marovoay in northwestern Madagascar, flooding homes, swirling rubbish around tree tops and killing dozens.

A week of torrential rains have forced thousands to leave their homes, swept buildings away and cut off road links to the rest of the poor Indian Ocean island nation. All of Marovoay´s rice paddies have turned into swamps.

"Everything has been swept away by the water," said Marie Jeanne Sofia, a 38-year-old mother of four. "Our zebu and rice stocks have gone. The couches with their foam covers, the bed and even our mattress," she said.

"We only managed to save a few sacks of rice." At least 32 people have drowned over the past week and 15,000 others displaced by the floods, local authorities said in their latest tally on Monday.

Sofia and her family have been surviving on fish swimming through Marovoay´s flooded streets. "Usually when I catch a lot of fish I sell them to buy rice and food," she told AFP, wading through the murky water with a net in hand.

"But here I can only catch a few, so I eat them straight away." Madagascar, a former French colony off Africa´s southeastern coast, is in the midst of a six-month rainy season that had caused widespread damage.

Global warming has increased the risk of flooding and tropical storms, as the atmosphere holds more water and rainfall patterns are disrupted. The government declared a state of emergency on Friday, and deployed helicopters and vessels to assist victims.

Despite these efforts, Marovoay´s 20,000 inhabitants remain blocked off from the rest of the island.

Mostly fishermen and rice farmers, they float around the city on canoes and swim into their homes to rescue some belongings.