At least 11 people have died in the south-east African island state of Madagascar, as cyclone Gamane struck the country. Around 7,000 people were affected by the devastation caused by the cyclone, which reached the north of the island on Wednesday morning, the National Authority for Civil Protection announced on Thursday. The cyclone moved across the island with an average wind speed of 150 kilometres per hour and heavy rainfall. In some places, winds of 210 kilometres per hour were measured. The disaster control authority said hundreds of houses, roads and bridges were flooded or destroyed in northern Madagascar. The full extent of the damage is still unclear, because many villages in the region were cut off from the rest of the country, making access difficult for rescue teams. The island nation of around 30 million inhabitants, which lies in the Indian Ocean, is regularly affected by severe weather. A year ago, tropical storm Freddy devastated Madagascar as well as the neighbouring mainland countries o f Mozambique and Malawi. More than 500 people lost their lives. Source: Ghana News Agency