At least 21 people have died in Madagascar following almost a week of torrential rain in the north-west of the island, the government said on Friday. The tropical Indian Ocean nation is in the midst of an intense six-month rainy season that often leads to casualties and widespread damage. The BNGRC warned that flooding in lowland and rice-growing areas posed a risk of "food insecurity and malnutrition". The rainy season usually stretches from October to April in Madagascar, a former French colony off Africa’s southeastern coast. Nine people were killed in January 2019 after heavy rains caused the collapse of a building in the capital Antananarivo.

Source: Punch January 24, 2020 14:04 UTC