At least 30 people have died and 20 are missing after flooding and a landslide caused by the passage of Tropical Storm Cheneso hit Madagascar.
Tens of thousands of people have also been left homeless across the Indian Ocean island nation, according to a preliminary assessment on Monday.
The storm hit the northeast of the island last Thursday and affected about 89,000 people, according to Madagascar’s National Disaster and Risk Management Authority.
The Madagascar Meteorological Agency said the storm, which has now swept across the country into the Mozambique Channel, produced wind gusts up to 170 km/h (105.63 mph) and brought heavy rainfall.
Colonel Fali Aritiana of the Office of Disaster and Risk Management said there were house collapses and landslides that trapped people.
“People generally reacted correctly, but some people did not pay enough attention to our warnings not to cross rivers during the flood, because the flow is much stronger than usual,” Aritiana said.
The storm damaged infrastructure, with many roads cut by rising waters, landslides and destroyed bridges.
Nearly 33,000 people were forced to flee their homes in the Boeny area in the northwest of the island. Locals say the prices of basic foodstuffs have skyrocketed.
“Prices for vegetables and rice have risen significantly since the storm,” and the cost of tomatoes has quadrupled, says Veronica Mamitiana, a teacher in the city of Mahajanga. “The merchants say it’s because of the cut national road,” she said.
Marovoai, 100 kilometers (60 miles) further south, was one of the regions hardest hit by the storm, with many communities still affected by stagnant floodwaters. The head of the Tolotriniana district, Rakotonindriana, said that the water level is dropping very slowly.
“Many houses are still flooded, and therefore most of the victims are still in residential areas,” Rakotonindriana added. “The roads are covered with water and we have to travel by canoe.”
Local authorities said they were handing out basic food to help those in need.
