Tropical Cyclone Batsirai Leaves Trail of Destruction in Madagascar, Claims Twenty Lives

Tropical Cyclone Batsirai impacted the east coast of Madagascar over the weekend, leaving damages in a country already suffering from the effects of Ana.

Tropical Cyclone Batsirai Hits Madagascar

There have been at least twenty confirmed deaths as a result of the cyclone and officials fear this number may rise.

The winds Batsirai brought to Réunion and Mauritius, two islands off the east coast of Madagascar, were comparable to those of a Category 4 hurricane (maximum sustained speeds of 130-156 mph or 209-251 km/h), as per AccuWeather.

"It's as if we had just been bombed. The city of Nosy-Varika is almost 95% destroyed. The solid houses saw their roofs torn off by the wind. The wooden huts have, for the most part, been destroyed," Willy Raharijaona, technical advisor to Madagascar's Senate Vice President, said to Reuters.

In satellite photographs prior to landfall, the storm's sheer breadth was caught, including a well-defined eye that indicated the cyclone's ferocity.

Impacts of Cyclone Batsirai

Because of the dangerous seas brought about by the storm, a Mauritian oil tanker ran aground last week on Réunion Island, stranding its crew.

The good news is that all of the sailors on board were saved. The cyclone's impact on the island resulted in the injuring of twelve people and the loss of power to about 10,000 people, as per AlJazeera.

Despite the cyclone only striking the island briefly, Vacoas, Mauritius, received more than 12 inches (305 mm) of rain. The French national meteorological office, Météo-France, warned of a 3-foot (1-meter) storm surge south of Madagascar's point of impact, which would cause considerable coastal flooding.

The cyclone's gusts split trees in half or uprooted them altogether, causing the ground to be covered with debris. There have also been reports of power outages. Batsirai's wrath was felt even in locations further inland.

According to one local, the town of Fianarantsoa, located 125 kilometers west of Mananjary, is completely submerged in floodwaters.

Madagascar had emergency shelters built and search and rescue personnel ready to deploy ahead of the storm's arrival on Friday. According to Reuters, the typhoon forced the evacuation of 150,000 people.

Batsirai is Likely to Cause More Damages

A combination of torrential rain and dangerous mudslides killed at least 55 people in Madagascar on January 22, according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Mary Gilbert. It was what later became Tropical Storm Ana in the Mozambique Channel, Gilbert added.

It was described as "overstretched" by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in a statement, and Batsirai will likely worsen the overall humanitarian situation of the country.

Despite the fact that Batisrai hasn't avoided Madagascar, AccuWeather's meteorologists think it won't follow Ana's course. As of Monday afternoon local time, the cyclone had emerged in the Mozambique Channel and was beginning to bend southward away from Africa.

However, because of the curved route, heavy rains may continue to fall across Madagascar until Tuesday, causing further problems in already hard-hit areas.

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