At least 31 people have been killed by heavy rains and flooding in the southern African island nation of Madagascar, officials said today. Nine people remained missing on the popular tourist island, according to the country's national disaster management office. On Friday, authorities had placed the number of people killed by torrential rains since the start of the week at 26, with Prime Minister Christian Ntsay declaring the situation a "national disaster." Almost 107,000 people have been affected by the bad weather, disaster management said. Torrential rains also made important roads impassable, while a dam near the town of Tanambe had burst, flooding surrounding villages and farmland.
