Cyclone Batsirai Kills 20, Makes 55,000+ Homeless in Madagascar

Cyclone Batsirai is blamed for the deaths of 20 people in Madagascar and for making more than 55,000 people homeless victims after slamming into the island's eastern coast, officials said. The tropical storm weakened quickly as it moved southwest across the island, missing the capital Antananarivo and posing little risk to other areas except for heavy rainfall, the national meteorological department said Monday. Batsirai, southern Africa's second big cyclone this year, is forecast to dissipate further as it exits Madagascar and should not pose a serious risk to Mozambique, said the weather department. Officials in Madagascar are working to attend to the damage caused by Batsirai. President Andry Rajoelina went to the town of Mananjary Monday to see the storm's destruction and the relief efforts. Batsirai destroyed about 3,000 dwellings and government buildings and flooded 5,700 others in Mananjary and nearby towns, officials said. The World Food Program Director in Madagascar Pasqualina DiSirio warned that rice crops had been damaged by the cyclone, threatening the country's food supply for months to come. "This (rice) is the main crop for they Malagasy people and they will be seriously affected in food security in the next 3-6 months if we don't do something immediately and we don't help them recover," she said. Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2TwO8Gm Subscribe to our newest channel Quicktake Explained: https://bit.ly/3iERrup Bloomberg Quicktake brings you live global news and original shows spanning business, technology, politics and culture. Make sense of the stories changing your business and your world. To watch complete coverage on Bloomberg Quicktake 24/7, visit http://www.bloomberg.com/qt/live, or watch on Apple TV, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, Fire TV and Android TV on the Bloomberg app. Have a story to tell? Fill out this survey for a chance to have it featured on Bloomberg Quicktake: https://cor.us/surveys/27AF30 Connect with us on… YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Bloomberg Breaking News on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BloombergQuickTakeNews Twitter: https://twitter.com/quicktake Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/quicktake Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/quicktake