Sign up to The Irish Times Archive (1859 - 2008)My Account »

A violent tropical storm battered Madagascar's eastern coastline killing at least 14 people and leaving thousands more homeless, the government said today.

The National Office for Risk and Catastrophe Management (BNGRC) said in a statement that tropical storm Hubert destroyed more than 500 homes and left people salvaging what they could from thousands of other flooded properties.