Eleven dead, thousands affected as Cyclone Gamane batters Madagascar

Houses washed away and roads destroyed after cyclone hits north of the Indian Ocean island.

At least 11 people have been killed and hundreds of homes destroyed as Cyclone Gamane smashed into northern Madagascar, according to officials.

The storm was projected to skim the Indian Ocean island, but changed course and hit the island’s Vohemar district in the early hours of Mar 27.

Video images showed torrents of water rushing through villages and people making human chains in waist-deep water while trying to help those trapped in their houses escape the deluge. Numerous routes and bridges were flooded and cut off.

Six people drowned and five others were killed by collapsing houses or falling trees, with some 7,000 people affected overall.

“It’s rare to have a cyclone like this. Its movement is nearly stationary,” General Elack Andriakaja, director general of the BNGRC national disaster management office, said in a statement.