The death toll in Madagascar caused by Cyclone Batsirai has risen to at least 20, authorities in the island nation off Africa's eastern coast said on Monday. They also added that the damage is worse than previously reported.
The cyclone ripped across the island late on Saturday and into the early hours of Sunday, destroying houses and leaving at least 55,000 people homeless.
"The entire infrastructure was massively damaged," said local official Jean-Louis Rault, underlining that violent gusts of wind had torn entire houses off the ground. He also stated that some remote villages in the mountains were now completely cut off from aid.
"The greatest danger comes from the water," Rault stressed. Dirty water poses a risk of spreading diseases such as malaria, diarrhoea or cholera.
Aerial photographs of the south-west of the island published by the German aid organization Welthungerhilfe revealed flooding of entire villages and agricultural land. Bridges have come down and roads been washed away.
Batsirai struck as the island was recovering from a tropical storm that hit last month. It had previously passed over Mauritius, where at least one person died.
The current cyclone season, which is expected to continue into March or April, has brought high winds and heavy rain to the south of Africa. Tropical Storm Ana devastated parts of Madagascar, Mozambique, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Zambia two weeks ago.
