It's the second cyclone in two weeks to sweep across eastern Madagascar.

Aerial photos from the World Food Program of the United Nations show completely flooded regions.

Houses built of wood and straw snapped like matchsticks in the storm.

Claudia Bröll

Freelance Africa correspondent based in Cape Town.

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He destroyed entire villages.

According to official figures, at least 20 people were killed and 55,000 people fled.

According to government estimates, 150,000 people may have to leave their homes, and 600,000 people could be affected in total.

The storm had reached speeds of 235 kilometers per hour and caused high waves.

Twelve roads and 14 bridges were destroyed.

Tropical storm Batsirai reached the east coast of the island on Saturday, had spread to the southwest, at least spared the capital Antananarivo, but then lost strength relatively quickly.

According to the weather service, he should now no longer pose a major risk to the country of Mozambique, which lies across from Madagascar on mainland Africa.

Madagascar is often hit by extreme weather events.

The south of the island has been plagued by a severe drought for years.

Environmentalists and the United Nations fear an increase in such events due to climate change.

At the end of January, tropical storm Ana raged on the island.

55 people lost their lives.

It also caused enormous damage and claimed lives in Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.

Many residents of the region are still struggling with the devastation caused by Cyclone Idai in 2019.

According to news agencies, the clean-up work has begun.

The first thing to focus on is health centers and hospitals, said the head of civil protection.

Many administrative buildings in the region were destroyed.

A representative of the aid organization Unicef ​​said that the main connecting road between the north and the south was partially impassable, making it difficult for relief supplies to get to affected villages.

Water continues to rise in canals and rivers, and people are still at risk, said Pasqualina DiSirio of the World Food Program: "Rice fields and rice crops will certainly be damaged and lost.

The food security of the population will be seriously compromised in the next three to six months.”