Eleven people died and over 7,000 were affected by it cyclone Gaman, which hit yesterday, Wednesday, at its northern end Madagascarthe National Bureau of Crisis and Disaster Management (BNGRC) announced this morning.

Six people drowned, while 5 died from collapsing houses or falling trees, authorities said. In a previous report published by the competent authorities, the dead amounted to 6 and the affected to 2,600.

Over 1,200 huts have been flooded.

Footage aired showed rivers of water in villages, people waist-deep in water forming human chains to be able to pull other villagers out of their homes.

Roads and bridges have been flooded and traffic has been disrupted.

Gaman was last night downgraded to a severe tropical storm and is expected to complete its passage from the island into the Indian Ocean tonight, according to the latest weather forecasts.

The peculiarity of this cyclone is that its course was not confirmed until the last moment. Up to 12 hours before it made landfall, forecasts said it would simply pass over the island. He also appeared to stick particularly to places he passed through, due to his slow movement speed, and his destructive action was therefore focused on specific places.

This cyclone “was expected to pass the north-eastern coast of Madagascar, but it is a natural phenomenon and there was a change of course”, explained to AFP the director general of BNGRC Elak Andriakatza.

“We rarely have a cyclone like this. It hardly moves at all. When it stops in one place, it destroys all the infrastructure. And this causes serious consequences for the population. And significant flooding,” as the rain mixes with the wind, he added.

Around ten tropical storms or cyclones pass through the southwestern Indian Ocean each year during the cyclone season, which runs from November to April.