MADAGASCAR CYCLONE DEATH TOLL RISE TO 51, 22 MISSING

Tropical cyclone Ava hit Madagascar earlier this month and has claimed 51 lives, with 54,000 people displaced by flooding, heavy rains and high winds, said authorities.

The cyclone that hit Antananarivo made landfall on January 5, lashing the eastern part of the African island for 24 hours, with wind speeds of between 140-190 kph and many rivers overflowing, roads cut off and bridges submerged.

Twenty-two people are still missing, while 161 000 other have been affected following the storms, the National Bureau for Risk and Catastrophe Management (NBRCM) said late Sunday.

The toll from Ava stood at 29 dead and 80 000 affected one week ago. Madagascar, one of the world's poorest countries, is regularly hit by cyclones. in March last year, cyclone Enawo killed at least 78 people.