The death toll from a tropical storm that lashed parts of northeastern Madagascar last week has climbed to 16, the government's risk and disaster management office announced Friday.

Residents of the Belle Souvenir neighborhood try to resume their daily life in their house submerged by water in Sambava on January 21, 2023, following the passage of cyclone Cheneso on January 19, 2023. (Photo: AFP)

Another 19 people are missing after the storm flooded several districts and cut roads linking them to the capital Antananarivo.

In a statement, the office said more than 55,400 people had been affected, more than half of whom were displaced from their homes.

Storm Cheneso made landfall on January 19, packing winds of up to 110 kilometres (68 miles) per hour and triggering downpours.

It is the first tropical storm of the current cyclone season in southern Africa, which typically runs from November to April.