20 people killed in Madagascar after a powerful cyclone

At least 20 people have been killed after a powerful cyclone tore through Madagascar’s main port city, Toamasina, leaving widespread destruction in its wake.

The storm, Cyclone Gezani, made landfall on Tuesday with heavy winds ripping roofs off homes, uprooting trees, and snapping power lines, plunging entire neighbourhoods into darkness.

 

Madagascar’s National Office for Risk and Disaster Management described the situation as “total chaos,” saying many of the victims died when houses collapsed in the hardest-hit areas.

Aid agencies on the ground say the damage is severe. The head of disaster management for Action Against Hunger in Madagascar told reporters that nearly 90 per cent of roofs in parts of the city have been blown off, either entirely or partially.

Authorities have evacuated dozens of injured people, along with hundreds of residents from vulnerable districts around Toamasina, a city of about 400,000 people.

Residents described terrifying scenes as the cyclone struck.

One local told Reuters that they had never experienced winds so violent, adding that even metal doors and windows were shaking uncontrollably.

Cyclone Gezani is the second major storm to hit Madagascar this year. Just 10 days ago, tropical cyclone Fytia killed 14 people and displaced more than 31,000, according to the United Nations humanitarian office.
Ahead of Gezani’s arrival, officials closed schools and rushed to prepare emergency shelters.

Madagascar’s meteorological service says the cyclone has now weakened into a moderate tropical storm as it moves inland.

The country’s new leader, Colonel Michael Randrianirina, was in Toamasina on Wednesday to assess the devastation.
Cyclone season in the Indian Ocean typically runs from November to April, bringing around a dozen storms each year.