Rescue teams in Madagascar announced that they had counted 17 new victims due to tropical cyclone "Pattirace" that hit the island in the Indian Ocean last week, bringing the death toll to 111.
The National Office for Risk and Disaster Management in Madagascar confirmed that the authorities had counted about 18,000 people affected, while more than 30,000 people were displaced from their homes;
Thousands of homes were uprooted or severely damaged.
Tropical cyclone "Batsirai" hit Madagascar and affected an agricultural coastal area extending over 150 km, and sparsely populated.
Then, the cyclone headed west to the interior of the island, causing floods in the rivers that destroyed the rice fields of the "Madagascar Reservoir", which raises fears of a deterioration of the humanitarian situation.
The cyclone uprooted or severely damaged thousands of homes (Reuters)
An official at the National Office for Disaster and Risk Management told Anadolu Agency that "the damage to the railway network led to the isolation of at least 6 districts completely, while more than 2,500 classrooms on the island were destroyed."
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies warned that about 4.4 million people were at risk as the cyclone made landfall in 14 provinces of Madagascar.
About 10 storms or cyclones strike the southwestern Indian Ocean each year during the cyclone season, which runs from November to April.