Cyclone Gamane hits Madagascar, kills at least 11, displaces thousands

A man walks through a flooded road in the coast of the Indian Ocean Island of Mauritius Monday Feb. 20, 2023   -  
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At least 11 people were reported killed after Cyclone Gamane made landfall into northern Madagascar, according to officials.

The cyclone was predicted to bypass the Indian Ocean island, but it changed course, leaving hundreds of homes destroyed.

Aerial footage showed waterlogged settlements, as people tried to rescue residents from their flooded homes.

The deadly cyclone crossed the northeast of Madagascar in two days displacing more than 18,000 people with three others still missing, the National Bureau of Risk and Disaster Management (BNGRC) said in a report late on Thursday.

The body also stated that the cyclone was moving with average winds of 150 km per hour and gusts of 210 km per hour.

Last month four people were killed when cyclone Freddy ravaged the island nation leaving behind massive destructions. Several houses were swept up by the cylone, while more than 16,600 Malagasy were affected, with some 4,500 houses flooded or damaged.

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