At least 10 people have been killed and nearly 50,000 displaced after Cyclone Batsirai brought strong winds and rain to Madagascar on Saturday evening.

Batsirai – the second major storm in two weeks – made landfall on the east coast, with gusts of 235km/h (146mph) and high waves hitting coastal areas.

Whole villages are reported to be almost completely destroyed.

Madagascar was already reeling from Tropical Storm Ana, which killed 55 people when it hit the Indian Ocean island nation last month.

Cyclone Batsirai has compounded the destruction, making landfall near the south-eastern city of Mananjary, 530km from the capital Antananarivo, at around 20:00 (17:00 GMT) on Saturday.

Electricity had not been available in Mananjary for two days and the water supply had been disrupted, according to local media.

One resident told Reuters that even schools and churches due to be used as evacuation
centres had had their roofs torn off.

In other places, the destruction was nearly total.

On Sunday, the town of Mananjary (east coast of Madagascar) was heavily affected by tropical cyclone Batsirai, which hit the island with gusts of up to 235 km/h. Many homes were destroyed and flooded.

Residents now implore the state to help them.

Destruction scenes, is what Cyclone Batsirai left behind as heavy rain and howling winds hit Madagascar.

On Sunday, more than 20,000 people had been counted as displaced and six had died.

Coastal area residents, like Manajary district inhabitant Amanda, now try to survive:

On Saturday, Batsirai made landfall in Mananjary district, which is located southeast of the capital Antananarivo.

It reached the island with packing winds of 165 kilometres per hour. The national disaster management agency has already put in place rescue plans and it possesses accommodation sites, food and medical care ready for the victims.

Cyclone Batsirai weakened overnight but floods were still expected due to heavy rain after it hit eastern Madagascar.