Cyclone Batsirai's torrential winds and rain hammered Madagascar, after landing on the island's east coast late Saturday. The latest intense cyclone has descended on several countries in the Indian Ocean, bringing death and devastation.
Batsirai hit Madagascar this weekend, with gusts reaching 146 miles per hour (235 kph).
At least ten people were killed in Madagascar and nearly 48,000 displaced after the storm struck, AFP reported on Sunday, citing the national disaster management agency.
One of the worst-hit towns was Nosy Varika on the east coast where almost 95% of buildings were destroyed. Coastal areas were hit with particularly high waves, while strong wind and rain devastated the east coast, causing “significant and widespread damage.” Entire villages had been destroyed by the storm, officials said, adding there is more risk of landslides and flooding. The storm even ripped open graves in cemeteries.
Before making landfall in Madagascar, which is still recovering from another major tropical storm, Ana, which killed dozens and affected over 130,000 last month, Batsirai passed through Mauritius and the French territory of Reunion Island, and is expected to move westwards. The cyclone posed a risk to some 4.5 million people within its path, according to the Automatic Disaster Analysis and Mapping (ADAM) alert developed by the World Food Programme (WFP).
Live satellite images of the cyclone were shared by Zoom Earth Track, showing the storm above the large island in the Indian ocean.
Madagascar’s office of disaster and risk management said in a bulletin late on Sunday 10 people had been killed. State radio said some died when their house collapsed in the town of Ambalavao, about 460km south of the capital, Antananarivo.
-RT