Madagascar's presidency on Friday announced the resignation of Prime Minister Jean Ravelonarivo after weeks of political conflict, a claim swiftly denied by the head of government who said he planned to step down in the future.

Ravelonarivo and President Hery Rajaonarimampianina have been in conflict over issues including the poor condition of the island's main roads and rising crime in the capital Antananarivo.

Australian authorities Friday said the discovery of plane wreckage, even if found to be from MH370, would not narrow down the location of the main debris field or solve the mystery of why the jet crashed.

The wreckage, which is two-meters (six-feet) long, was found on a beach on the French island of La Reunion in the Indian Ocean and is expected to be analysed in France on Saturday.

Madagascar's president defended himself Wednesday through his lawyers, denouncing a recent vote to impeach him as an attempted "institutional coup d'etat."

The country's parliament voted overwhelmingly two weeks ago to dismiss President Hery Rajaonarimampianina for alleged constitutional violations and general incompetence in the Indian Ocean state.

Madagascan police smashed open the car windows of an opposition lawmaker late Monday and seized the equivalent of $74,000 in cash, reporters witnessed, two weeks after parliament voted to dismiss the president.

Officers used tear gas to disperse about 20 opposition lawmakers at the scene who tried to halt the search by arguing that female lawmaker Lanto Rakotomanga was protected under parliamentary immunity.

Madagascan President Hery Rajaonarimampianina prepared to address the nation on Wednesday after parliament voted to impeach him in a move that threatened to revive political instability in the Indian Ocean island.

Rajaonarimampianina came to power in 2013 elections, vowing to end years of turmoil after his predecessor Marc Ravalomanana was ousted in a coup in 2009.

At least 14 people died in flooding Friday in the Madagascan capital Antananarivo after a night of torrential rain that caused dams to break, rescue services said.

About 24,000 people were driven out of their homes in the floods and several neighbourhoods were being evacuated in the Indian Ocean island nation, the country's emergency management bureau said.

Sixty eight people were killed in the tropical storm that battered Madagascar over a week ago, according to new figures released Tuesday ahead of a national day of mourning.

"The flag is to be at half-mast on Wednesday.... All festive activities are suspended," the government said.

The government of the Indian Ocean island nation of Madagascar has resigned, the presidency announced, amid growing criticism and violent protests over the cabinet's handling of recurring power blackouts.

President Hery Rajaonarimampianina made the announcement in a decree released overnight, and said he was in the process of appointing a new government. 

A protester in Madagascar was killed when police put down a demonstration against recurring electricity cuts in the eastern city of Toamasina, the victim's family and police said Monday.

The death, which happened on January 3, was the second arising from protests in the port city of Toamasina over repeated power blackouts, after an aggressive police response to a violent demonstration December 23 left one person dead.

Madagascar's president and four of his predecessors met for the first time Friday in a bid to foster a national reconciliation process in the Indian Ocean island blighted by political crises.

The details of the closed-door talks being held at the behest of the Malagasy Christian Council of Churches are not being made public.