Cyclone pounds Madagascar with torrential winds and rain
Cyclone Batsirai’s torrential winds and rain are hammering Madagascar, after landing on the island’s east coast
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Cyclone Batsirai's torrential winds and rain are hammering Madagascar, after landing on the island's east coast late Saturday.
An estimated 45,000 people have been displaced by the tropical storm, the National Office for Risk and Disaster Management said on Sunday.
After gaining strength in the Indian Ocean with gale-force winds reaching peaks of 145 miles per hour, the cyclone made landfall near Mananjary, according to the island’s meteorology department.
Now that Batsirai — which means help in the Shona language — is on land its winds have slowed to about 80 miles per hour.
Residents of Mananjary the nearby towns of Manakara and Nosy Varika report that the cyclone has caused widespread damage by blowing the roofs off homes, knocking down trees and utility poles, making roads impassable and flooding many areas.
Much of Madagascar is already waterlogged from tropical storm Ana and heavy rains in January and the new cyclone is adding to the damage.
Batsirai is classified as a dangerous storm and is expected to inflict “significant and widespread damage, particularly flooding in the east, the southeast and the central highlands,” said the meteorology department in a statement.
Further inland, Antananarivo, the capital, experienced rains ahead of the cyclone and residents put sandbags on their roofs to protect against the winds.
Anticipating widespread destruction, most land and sea transport has been suspended on Madagascar, the world’s fourth-largest island.
“Almost all regions of the island are at risk,” the National Office for Risk and Disaster Management said, warning that the cyclone threatens nearly 600,000 of the island’s 28 million people.