Cyclone Giovanna leaves 23 dead, 190,000 homeless in Madagascar

Antananarivo - A tropical cyclone in Madagascar left at least 23 people dead and nearly 190,000 homeless earlier in the week, the national disaster management agency said Sunday.

Cyclone Giovanna made landfall on the eastern seaboard of the impoverished Indian Ocean Island off the east African coast on Tuesday, with wind speeds of up to 200 kilometres per hour.

Around 40,000 people have been provided with emergency shelter, authorities said.
The eastern district of Brickaville, some 260 kilometres from the capital Antananarivo, was particularly hard hit.

Giovanna has been compared to Cyclone Geralda in 1994, which killed more than 200 people and causing widespread destruction on the island where cyclones are a regular occurrence.

- M & C