Cyclone Enawo Update: Madagascar Prepares For Storm To Make Landfall With Hurricane-Force Winds And Rain

A tropical cyclone with hurricane-force winds strengthened Monday in the Indian Ocean as it prepared to slam Madagascar during the entire week ahead. Cyclone Enawo, located north-northwest of Reunion Island Monday, was "expected to further intensify over the next 12 hours" before making landfall Tuesday, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center.

Meteo Madagascar, the country's general directorate of meteorology, had already issued Monday a red alert urging residents in areas like Vohimarina, Sambava, Vavatenina, Maroantsetra and Sainte Marie to stay indoors and keep up-to-date on the cyclone's movements, according to its website. People in other areas were ordered to prepare for the storm by listening to the radio, leaving houses on the coast, stockpiling water, putting animals in safe places and docking canoes.

"Absolute vigilance is essential," Meteo Madagascar wrote.

The cyclone was set to hit northeastern Madagascar first and then move down the island nation, possibly triggering weeks of power outages, flooding small communities and destroying some buildings, AccuWeather reported. Though the storm system will probably weaken as it encounters Madagascar's rugged terrain, residents in the northeast will likely see "increasing winds and heavy rainfall from Monday night into Tuesday," AccuWeather meteorologist Jason Nicholls wrote in a blog post.

Madagascar is no stranger to cyclones, which is the name people in the south Pacific and Indian Ocean use for hurricanes. The strongest cyclone to recently make landfall there did so in March 2014, according to the Weather Channel. Cyclone Hellen left about 1,700 people homeless, destroyed more than 400 houses and flooded nearly 8,000 hectares of rice fields.

One of the deadliest cyclones to ever hit Madagascar was Gafilo in 2004. It killed more than 360 people and caused $250 million in damage, Wunderground reported.

Elsewhere in the region, Tropical Storm Dineo hit Mozambique last month. Dineo brought winds that exceeded 80 miles per hour and created waves up to 19 feet tall.