Death Toll From Cyclone Batsirai in Madagascar Rises to 120: State Agency

People search debris on the beach, in the aftermath of Cyclone Batsirai, in the town of Mananjary, Madagascar, on Feb. 8, 2022. (Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters)

ANTANANARIVO—The death toll from Cyclone Batsirai in Madagascar jumped to 120 on Friday from 92 reported earlier this week, the state disaster relief agency said.

The cyclone hit the Indian Ocean island late on Saturday, slamming the southeastern coastline before receding late on Sunday.

The disaster relief agency said that of the deaths, 87 had occurred in one area, the Ikongo district in southeast Madagascar. It said earlier this week it was still collecting details about what had happened in Ikongo.

The latest update raises the death toll from 111 reported earlier on Friday.

Cars stop before a flooded area, after Cyclone Batsirai made landfall, on a road in Vohiparara, Madagascar, on Feb. 6, 2022. Picture was taken with a drone. (Christophe Van Der Perre/Reuters)

Locals stand next to a flooded area, as Cyclone Batsirai sweeps inland, in Fianarantsoa, Madagascar, on Feb. 6, 2022. (Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters)

The agency said the cyclone had left just over 124,000 people with their homes damaged or destroyed, and some 30,000 more displaced and camping at 108 sites.

Batsirai was Madagascar’s second destructive storm in two weeks, after Tropical Storm Ana killed 55 and displaced 130,000 in a different area of the country, further north.

The island nation, with a population of nearly 30 million, was already struggling with food shortages in the south, a consequence of a severe and prolonged drought.

By Lovasoa Rabary