Antananarivo - Cyclone Ernest was downgraded to a tropical storm before it reached southern Madagascar on Sunday, packing winds of 100km/h.

The storm system was earlier expected to miss the Indian Ocean state but changed direction and reached Tsiombe district at around 3pm, meteorologist Hubert Andriamparison told reporters.

The storm is moving at about 22km/h and has gusts of up to 150km/h, he said.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or material damage.

"It is likely that the Fiherenana River will overflow. About 240mm of rain has fallen in the past three days in the area, compared with normal rainfall of 42mm in 10 days," Andriamparison said.
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