Madagascar's National Office for Risk and Disaster Management reported on Monday that at least 59 people have died after Cyclone Gasyane hit the country last week, as the office continues to assess the impact of the second tropical cyclone to strike the Indian Ocean nation this year. The office stated that the cyclone displaced 16,428 people, left 15 missing, injured 804, and classified 423,986 as disaster victims. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that Gasyane made landfall in the country ten days after Tropical Cyclone Ana. The first cyclone killed 14 people and displaced more than 31,000. At its peak, Cyclone Gasyane had wind speeds of about 185 km/h with gusts reaching nearly 270 km/h, strong enough to rip metal sheets from roofs and uproot large trees. The weather service said authorities placed the Ambanizy region in southwestern Madagascar on high alert as Gasyane is expected to pass about 100 km off its coast Monday evening with winds of about 65 km/h but no heavy rainfall.
