ALVARO CYCLONE (Syllabus: GS Paper 1 – Geography)

Context: Alvaro, the first cyclone of 2024, made landfall near Morombe in Madagascar on January 1, 2024.

Alvaro

• About: It is the first cyclone to hit Madagascar during the 2023-2024 season, which in the southwest Indian Ocean runs from around late October to May.
• Affected: Tropical Cyclone Alvaro has affected close to half of the total number of people affected by Cyclone Freddy in Madagascar.

oFreddy, made landfall along Madagascar’s south-eastern coast on February 21, 2023.

• Resilience and Preparedness to tropical cyclones across Southern Africa (REPRESA): It is an international initiative that aims to improve community preparedness for tropical cyclones in Southern Africa.

Madagascar

• About: Madagascar, island country lying off the southeastern coast of Africa. 
• 4th Largest Island: It is the fourth largest island in the world, after Greenland, New Guinea, and Borneo.
• Land: It is located in the southwestern Indian Ocean and is separated from the African coast by the 250-mile- (400-km-) wide Mozambique Channel.