• Tropical storm Cheneso made landfall in Madagascar on January 19.
• Followed by torrential rainstorms that left 16 persons dead and 17 missing.
• The storm was the first in a yearly series.

According to the government’s Office for Risk and Disaster Management, Tropical Storm Cheneso’s landfall in Madagascar was followed by intense rainstorms that left 22 persons dead and 20 missing.

The storm, which made landfall on January 19, was the first in a yearly series that generally develops in the Indian Ocean off the coast of the island country for the year 2023.

According to a statement released by the office late on Thursday, three individuals died during the storm that tore through Madagascar, and a further 13 perished in the subsequent torrential downpour. It stated that the rain was continuing.

On Sunday, the storm returned to the sea after spending more than two days stationary off the western city of Morondava, according to the office.

According to a statement released on Thursday by the European Commission’s Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations division, the storm and rain have so far caused the displacement of slightly over 60,000 people and damage to 13,000 homes and 100 classrooms.

In recent years, Mozambique and Madagascar have frequently been struck by powerful storms and cyclones that have devastated homes, infrastructure, and crops while uprooting large populations of people.

Four significant storms struck Madagascar in January and February of last year, causing at least 138 deaths, the destruction of 124,000 dwellings, and the displacement of about 130,000 people.

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