After skimming Reunion Island, Cyclone Batsirai hit Madagascar overnight from Saturday to Sunday. At least ten people died and nearly 48,000 residents were displaced.
The Malagasy authorities indicated that the cyclone was losing its power but that floods were still to be feared.
The United Nations team on the ground, alongside the Government and the population, ready to respond to the arrival of Cyclone Batsirai.
Live video Mananjary. pic.twitter.com/nr8Vfovz7h
— UN Madagascar (@UNMadagascar) February 5, 2022
According to Météo-Madagascar, Batsirai should “go out to sea in the Mozambique Channel at the level of the northern part of Atsimo Andrefana (a region in the south of the island, Ed) in the afternoon or next night”.
The cyclone #Batsirai landed on the east coast of Madagascar around 8 p.m. local time. The eye is 40-50 km in diameter. The Mananjary station, very close to the eye wall, recorded an average wind speed of 167 km/h placing #Batsirai at the stage of an intense tropical cyclone. pic.twitter.com/emATak1lE4
— Meteo-France (@meteofrance) February 5, 2022
MADAGASCAR ISLAND ALREADY HIT IN JANUARY
Cyclone Batsirai, described as “very dangerous” by Météo-France, passed Thursday 200 km from the coast of Reunion. After torrential rains and strong winds, the provisional toll reported 12 injured. The red alert, which invited residents to stay confined to their homes, was lifted on Friday.
Every year during the hurricane season (from November to April), about ten storms or cyclones cross the south-west of the Indian Ocean, from east to west.
Madagascar, one of the poorest countries in the world, was hit by tropical storm Ana in January, which killed more than 40 people.
