“We urge the international community not to ignore the plight of the Malagasy people,” Christopher Peter Metcalf, UN Resident Coordinator said, according to, IRIN news agency.

Each year, between January and March, Madagascar experiences waves of cyclones that cause widespread flooding and destruction.

Over the last two years, the Indian Ocean Island of 13 million people was hit by five cyclones which left nearly 200,000 people without shelter and destroyed tens of thousands of hectares of farm land and hundreds of classrooms.

Several people also die each year as a result of the cyclones.

This year, meteorologists forecast that four to five intense cyclones will strike the island and that up to 600,000 people could be affected, United Nations agencies working on the island said.

Owing to the country’s current political situation, experts say it cannot respond to the imminent cyclone disaster.

Back by the army and the street, former opposition leader Andry Rajoelina seized power in March from democratically elected President Marc Ravalomanana, whom he accused of authoritarianism.

The international community immediately denounced the coup and cut aid to the island.

But after several months of negotiations, the island's four main political movements have reached a deal allowing Rajoelina to remain on as interim president of a transitional coalition government.