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Cyclone Gezani strikes Madagascar, killing at least 31
At least 31 people have died after Cyclone Gezani battered Madagascar's eastern coast, according to the island nation's disaster management authority. The cyclone made landfall near the port city of Toamasina on Tuesday, unleashing winds of up to 250 km/h (155 mph) and causing widespread destruction.
Widespread devastation in Toamasina
Madagascar's National Office for Risk and Disaster Management reported that many of the fatalities occurred when houses collapsed under the force of the storm. The cyclone plunged neighborhoods into darkness as power lines snapped, uprooted trees, and tore roofs from buildings.
Colonel Michael Randrianirina, the country's military leader who took power in October, described the situation as catastrophic. "What happened is a disaster-nearly 75% of Toamasina was destroyed," he told AFP. "The current situation exceeds Madagascar's capabilities alone."
Humanitarian crisis unfolds
Rija Randrianarisoa, head of disaster management at the aid agency Action Against Hunger, said 90% of homes in the affected areas had their roofs blown off entirely or partially. "It's total chaos," he told AFP.
Residents in Toamasina, Madagascar's second-largest city with a population of 400,000, recounted harrowing experiences. Harimanga Ranaivo, a local resident, told Reuters, "I have never experienced winds this violent. The doors and windows are made of metal, but they are being violently shaken."
Emergency teams have evacuated dozens of injured people and hundreds of residents from the hardest-hit districts. Authorities had shuttered schools and prepared emergency shelters ahead of the cyclone's arrival.
Storm weakens but risks remain
By Wednesday morning, Madagascar's meteorological service reported that Gezani had weakened to a moderate tropical storm and moved inland, about 100 km (60 miles) north of the capital, Antananarivo. The storm is expected to cross the central highlands before exiting into the Mozambique Channel later in the day.
The cyclone's landfall is believed to be one of the most intense recorded near Toamasina in the satellite era, according to the CMRS cyclone forecaster on France's Reunion island.
Recurring disaster
Gezani is the second cyclone to hit Madagascar this year. Just 10 days earlier, Tropical Cyclone Fytia killed 14 people and displaced over 31,000, according to the UN's humanitarian office.
The Indian Ocean cyclone season, which typically runs from November to April, brings about a dozen storms to the region annually.
