Cyclone kills 50 in Madagascar
Cyclone Enawo killed 50 people and affected 176,000 people after it hit Madagascar earlier this week, the national disaster management agency said on Saturday, with thousands forced into emergency shelters.
The toll issued by the head of the BNGRC agency, Thierry Venty, was higher than the earlier estimate of four deaths and 10,000 people displaced issued on Thursday.
More than 53,000 people were displaced and 180 injured by the storm, the agency said on Friday, while 32,000 were affected here.
Officials opened 137 shelters to house those hit by the cyclone.
Enawo hit the remote northeast on Tuesday, swelling rivers to bursting point and sparking fears of widespread flooding.
It weakened after making landfall and was reclassified as a tropical depression moving southwards, away from the island that lies 400km off the coast of Africa.
More than 700,000 people could be affected by the cyclone, which was the most powerful to strike the island since 2012, according to the Red Cross.
The group deployed 500 volunteers to help the 176,000 islanders affected by the storm.
In 2012, tropical storm Irina and tropical cyclone Giovanna claimed more than 100 lives.