At least 18 people have been killed after a tropical cyclone swept across the island of Madagascar. The tempest left thousands displaced, the country’s disaster management office said on Friday.
Tropical cyclone Gamane crossed the northeast of Madagascar on Wednesday and Thursday, displacing more than 20,000 people, the National Bureau of Risk and Disaster Management (BNGRC) said in a report.
Roads and bridges collapsed in the north of Madagascar with at least four persons missing, BNGRC said late on Thursday.
It added that Gamane made landfall north of Vohémar in northeast Madagascar on Wednesday morning with average winds of 150 km per hour and drafts of 210 km per hour.
It dissipated slowly on Thursday while still over land, the disaster management office said, having dumped heavy rain and caused flooding in many localities.
Disaster management personnel waded in knee-deep water as they assisted residents recover belongings from their flooded homes.
In 2023, cyclone Freddy and tropical storm Cheneso killed at least 37 people and forced thousands from their homes. Gamane is the first this year in Madagascar’s cyclone and storm season.
