Death toll from Cyclone Batsirai in Madagascar rises to 120 - state agency

An aerial view shows damaged houses and debris on the beach, in the aftermath of Cyclone Batsirai, in Mananjary, Madagascar, February 8, 2022. Picture taken with a drone. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis

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.

People search debris on the beach, in the aftermath of Cyclone Batsirai, in the town of Mananjary, Madagascar, February 8, 2022. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis

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.

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.

A man works on the destroyed house of Philibert Jean Claude Razananoro, in the aftermath of Cyclone Batsirai, in the town of Mananjary, Madagascar, February 8, 2022. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis

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.

(Reporting by Lovasoa Rabary; writing by George Obulutsa; editing by Tomasz Janowski)