“The damage is considerable”: several dead after the passage of Cyclone Freddy in Madagascar

The very intense tropical cyclone called Freddy hit Madagascar on Tuesday, February 21 around 7:30 p.m. local time.

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Text by: RFI Follow

2 mins

According to the National Office for Risk and Disaster Management (BNGRC), four people died following Tropical Cyclone Freddy, which hit the Big Island overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday.

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With our correspondent in Madagascar

,

The dreaded cyclone Freddy

hit the southeast coast of Madagascar on Tuesday evening around 7:30 p.m. local time, bringing with it strong winds blowing at 130 km/h, gusts estimated at more than 180 km/h and rough seas with waves around 10 m high.

The latest report reports four dead.

This

is its name in view of its powerful meteorological parameters, landed about 30 km north of Mananjary, a place of impact almost identical to the last two cyclones which had ravaged the island. in February 2022.

Here, at daybreak, the population was already numerous in the streets to see the damage caused by the passage of Freddy.

On the ground, electrical wires, sheet metal, piles of wood… Many houses have lost their roofs, despite the thousands of sandbags that we saw scattered here and there on the houses.

The garden is destroyed, it is a sand ground.

Some neighbors no longer have a home.

The damage is considerable.

Pascal Sallé, resident of Mananjary

Sarah Tetaud

Some hoard what's left of their house and leave with planks under their arms to avoid having what little they still have stolen.

Others have gone into the rice fields in search of belongings and metal sheets, scattered by the winds.

A resident describes totally bare trees, pollarded coconut palms.

In the heart of the city, the prison wall has completely collapsed.

However, life resumes.

Some grocery stores have already reopened and the sun has reappeared.

Freddy, on the other hand, lost intensity and became a strong tropical storm.

It is currently evolving in the central highlands and should leave through the Mozambique Channel this Wednesday afternoon, north of Tulear, near Morombe.

On its path, the winds and the rain nevertheless remain violent and the authorities are still calling for the greatest vigilance.

#Update: First images of Cyclone Freddy as it approaches Mananjary in #Madagascar .

Our teams are on the ground preparing to respond!

@WFP plans to distribute hot meals to people sheltered in Mananjary, Manakara, Farafangana, #CycloneFreddy https://t.co/c5ahup9gDm pic.twitter.com/eij9F98Oyq

—WFP Media (@WFP_Media) February 21, 2023

► To read also: Cyclone Freddy in Madagascar: "I have never heard gusts like that"

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