Cyclone batters Madagascar
wildmadagascar.org
February 23, 2008
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29 people were reported dead after Cyclone Ivan, a category 3 storm, struck Madagascar. The storm flooded key rice-producing regions in the country and comes a month after Cyclone Fame killed 13 on the island.
Authorities in Madagascar say nearly 70,000 people were left homeless by Ivan which had winds gusting up to 140 miles per hour (230 km per hour) and struck the eastern part of the island on February 17.
Authorities now say the big concern is the risk of disease.
Madagascar, the world’s forth largest island, is typically hit by cyclones (as hurricane are known in the Indian Ocean) in January and February.
It is unclear whether the latest cyclones affected Madagascar’s vanilla crop. Madagascar is the world’s largest producer of vanilla and cyclone damage typically affects global prices.