Cyclone pounds Madagascar with torrential winds and rain

By LAETITIA BEZAIN
Associated Press

ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar (AP) — Cyclone Batsirai’s torrential winds and rain are hammering Madagascar, after landing on the island’s east coast. Madagascar’s National Office for Risk and Disaster Management said an estimated 45,000 people have been displaced by the tropical storm. After gaining strength in the Indian Ocean with gale-force winds reaching peaks of 145 miles per hour, the cyclone made landfall near Mananjary. Now that Batsirai — which means help in the Shona language — is on land its winds have slowed to about 80 miles per hour. Residents of Mananjary the nearby towns of Manakara and Nosy Varika report that the cyclone has blown the roofs off homes, knocked down trees and utility poles, blocked roads and flooded many areas.