A newly formed tropical cyclone, named Fytia, developed over the northern Mozambique Channel on the afternoon of 29 January and began moving eastwards towards Madagascar as a tropical storm.
By 6.00 UTC on 30 January, the storm’s centre was located offshore, about 210 kilometres west of the town of Vilamasta in north-western Madagascar. At that time, it was producing maximum sustained winds of around 116 km/h.
Weather forecasters said Fytia was expected to strengthen further and make landfall near Vilamasta late on the evening of 30 January, with winds reaching up to 169 km/h, which would place it in the tropical cyclone category.
After landfall, the system is forecast to weaken slightly and move southeastwards across central Madagascar on 31 January as a tropical storm.
Over the next 72 hours, the central and northern parts of Madagascar are expected to experience very heavy rainfall, strong winds and dangerous storm surges, raising the risk of flooding and damage.
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