14 killed after Cyclone Gamane makes landfall in Madagascar

Antananarivo, March 29 (IANS) Fourteen people were killed and three others injured after tropical Cyclone Gamane landed in Madagascar, with three more people still missing, Madagascar's meteorological authorities said.

Gamane made landfall on the northern tip of Madagascar on Wednesday morning, packing average winds of 150 km per hour and gusts of more than 210 km per hour, accompanied by heavy rains, said Madagascar's National Office for Risk and Disaster Management (BNGRC) on Thursday as quoted by Xinhua news agency report.

A total of 36,307 people, including 9,024 households, were affected by the cyclone, which devastated seven regions of the country. Nearly 18,565 people, or 4,849 households, were forced to evacuate and seek shelter in 68 emergency sites scattered across various localities.

The floods that followed caused extensive damage, submerging 6,675 houses and nearly 1,698 rice paddies, while 617 houses were destroyed, according to the BNGRC.

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