ANTANANARIVO, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Madagascar's meteorological department has predicted that there will be four to five cyclones that will be violently passing around Madagascar during the cyclonic period between October and March, threatening 600,000 people, Malagasy newspaper L'Express reported on Friday.

Worried about these threats, the United Nations agencies launched on Thursday an urgent appeal for six million U.S. dollars in order to stock the supplies.

According to the interim resident coordinator for the United Nations system in Madagascar, Christopher Peter Metcalf, the urgently required materials include tents, medical equipment, water purifiers, school kits and recreation kits.

He said that resource mobilisation and their supply to the zones that are at risk should be urgent and without delay in order to alleviate the eventual impacts of the cyclones on the local populations.

On average, three or four cyclones per year are witnessed in Madagascar.

During the last cyclonic period, five cyclones were witnessed in this island nation, affecting 463,000 people and leaving 190,000 people homeless. The strong winds destroyed 2,276 classrooms and 180,000 hectares of agricultural fields.