Cyclones killed 150 in Madagascar-U.N.

ANTANANARIVO, Apr 28 (Reuters) Six cyclones that have battered northern Madagascar in recent months killed at least 150 people as river levels rose and swept away villages on the huge Indian Ocean island, a UN official today said.

Cyclone Indlala killed scores, destroyed 13,000 homes and ruined 40,000 hectares of crops last month on Madagascar, which was already struggling to deal with a severe drought.

Five other cyclones since mid-December have made it the country's worst storm season on record.

''I remember one village where 23 people died, including 17 from the same family,'' UNICEF country representative Bruno Maes told Reuters in an interview.

He said three-quarters of crops -- including vanilla, a lucrative export -- were destroyed in the areas hit, and he expected malnutrition rates to rise among some 200,000 people still affected.

Recovery would take months, Maes said.

Madagascar said last month it had received only $1 million of a 242 million dollars appeal to cope with this year's disasters.

REUTERS JS ND2210