UN says death toll from Tropical Cyclone Batsirai has risen to 21, with more than 62,000 men, women and children displaced in Madagascar.
Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN Secretary-General said this on Tuesday while giving update on the situation in Madagascar at the UN headquarters in New York.
The cyclone is the second deadliest storm to batter the African nation since the beginning of the year.
Batsirai made landfall on Saturday night local time, with wind speeds of up to 165 kilometres per hour, and wind gusts of up to 230km/h.
The most affected districts of Nosy Varika, Mananjary and Manakara, according to reports.
“The UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Issa Sanogo, and our partners visited affected areas today to see the situation first-hand and support the immediate mobilisation of resources for the response.
“The first aerial assessment took place on Monday through a UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) flight, which found that the main damage caused by the cyclone is concentrated around Mananjary City.
“We, along with our partners are supporting the government by providing food, sanitation and hygiene and protection services, Dujarric told journalists at a news conference.
Meanwhile, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) had on Monday, published a report, stating that no fewer than 43,000 were displaced across 180 sites, and at least 211 schools impacted.
Numbers impacted were expected to rise in the days ahead, as more information became available, including for hard-to-reach areas yet to file initial reports on damage and loss of life sustained.
The government estimated that up to 600,000 could be affected by Batsirai overall, and the number of displaced could rise to 150,000.
The World Food Programme (WFP) said that around 1.64 million were at crisis level or worse, when it came to food insecurity.
Tropical Cyclone Batsirai’s wind and rains had caused considerable damage to roads and transport links, leaving some of the hardest-hit areas inaccessible.
At least 19 roads and 17 bridges had been cut.
“The devastation wrought by Batsirai has compounded the suffering caused by the passage of Tropical Storm Ana and an Intertropical Convergence Zone in Madagascar less than two weeks ago,” OCHA noted.
Tropical Storm Ana left 55 people dead and affected 132,000, including 15,152 people who remain displaced, with 14,938 of them sheltering temporarily in 68 centres across the Analamanga region.
The cyclone had now entered the Mozambique channel, where it was moving southwards and away from land. It had lost much of its strength and was classified as Post-Tropical Depression ex-Batsirai at 4pm local time on Monday, according to OCHA.
The government activated search and rescue efforts on Sunday, including a helicopter rescue operation in some areas.
