At least 20 people have died after a powerful cyclone struck Madagascar, says the disaster authority in the Indian Ocean island. Cyclone Gezani made landfall on Tuesday, hitting the island's main port, Toamasina. Madagascar's disaster management office reported total chaos, with houses collapsing in the impact zone where the bodies were found. Neighborhoods were plunged into darkness as power lines snapped, and trees were uprooted.
The cyclone's landfall is likely to have been one of the most intense recorded around the city in the satellite era, according to the CMRS cyclone forecaster on France's Reunion island, cited by AFP. The National Office for Risk and Disaster Management indicated that many of the fatalities occurred when houses collapsed, with winds reaching 250 km/hour (155 mph).
Rija Randrianarisoa, head of disaster management at the Action Against Hunger aid agency, stated, It's total chaos, 90% of house roofs have been blown off, entirely or in part. The disaster management office has evacuated dozens of injured people and hundreds of residents from Toamasina, which is home to 400,000 people.
Residents recounted the terrifying experience as winds buffeted their homes. I have never experienced winds this violent... The doors and windows are made of metal, but they are being violently shaken, said Harimanga Ranaivo. Gezani is the second cyclone to hit Madagascar this year, following tropical cyclone Fytia, which claimed 14 lives and displaced over 31,000 people.
In preparation for the cyclone, officials had closed schools and set up emergency shelters. Following the storm's passage, it weakened to a moderate tropical storm and began moving westward inland, approximately 100km (60 miles) north of the capital Antananarivo. The cyclone season in the Indian Ocean typically runs from November to April, delivering about a dozen storms each year.
The cyclone's landfall is likely to have been one of the most intense recorded around the city in the satellite era, according to the CMRS cyclone forecaster on France's Reunion island, cited by AFP. The National Office for Risk and Disaster Management indicated that many of the fatalities occurred when houses collapsed, with winds reaching 250 km/hour (155 mph).
Rija Randrianarisoa, head of disaster management at the Action Against Hunger aid agency, stated, It's total chaos, 90% of house roofs have been blown off, entirely or in part. The disaster management office has evacuated dozens of injured people and hundreds of residents from Toamasina, which is home to 400,000 people.
Residents recounted the terrifying experience as winds buffeted their homes. I have never experienced winds this violent... The doors and windows are made of metal, but they are being violently shaken, said Harimanga Ranaivo. Gezani is the second cyclone to hit Madagascar this year, following tropical cyclone Fytia, which claimed 14 lives and displaced over 31,000 people.
In preparation for the cyclone, officials had closed schools and set up emergency shelters. Following the storm's passage, it weakened to a moderate tropical storm and began moving westward inland, approximately 100km (60 miles) north of the capital Antananarivo. The cyclone season in the Indian Ocean typically runs from November to April, delivering about a dozen storms each year.
