Rain-soaked Madagascar Again Threatened by Cyclone Giovanna

Rainfall data from NASA's TRMM satellite revealed that parts of Madagascar's east coast received over a foot (30 cm) of rainfall from Cyclone Giovanna's passage, and new satellite data shows Cyclone Giovanna re-strengthening and turning back toward southeastern Madagascar.

The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite, managed by both NASA and the Japanese Space Agency obtains rainfall rate data from space and acts like a flying rain gauge. That data is analyzed to determine how much rain falls from certain events. In a Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) done at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. on Cyclone Giovanna's rainfall from February 8-15, 2012, the highest rainfall totals of over 250mm (~10 inches) fell in the coastal area east of Madagascar's capitol of Antananarivo. In that area people were flooded out of their homes and deaths have been reported.

Provided by NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center