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ANTANANARIVO (Reuters) – A tropical cyclone that hit the island of Madagascar this week has killed at least 18 people and displaced thousands, according to the country’s disaster management office.
The passage of Cyclone Gamane on Wednesday and Thursday in the northeast of the country displaced more than 20,000 people and four people are still missing, the National Bureau of Risk and Disaster Management (BNGRC) said in a report.
Gamane reached the coasts north of Vohémar, in northeastern Madagascar, on Wednesday morning, with average winds of 150 km/h and gusts reaching 210 km/h, the BNGRC explained.
It slowly dissipated Thursday afternoon while still over the country, the disaster management office said, after dumping heavy rain and causing flooding in many areas.
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Roads and bridges have collapsed in northern Madagascar, BNRGC reported.
Gamane is the first storm of the season this year in Madagascar.
Last year, Hurricane Freddy and Tropical Storm Cheneso killed at least 37 people and forced thousands more to flee their homes.
(Reporting by Lovasoa Rabary, writing by George Obulutsa; French version Alban Kacher and Mathias de Rozario, editing by Kate Entringer)
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