Tropical Cyclone Gezani has killed at least 31 people and left four others missing after tearing through eastern Madagascar, the government said on Wednesday, with the island nation’s second-largest city bearing the brunt of the destruction.
The storm made landfall late Tuesday and brought hurricane-force winds and torrential rains that flattened homes and severed power lines. It is the second major storm to strike the Indian Ocean island in less than two weeks, deepening a humanitarian crisis in a country already grappling with high levels of food insecurity and fragile infrastructure.
The majority of the casualties were reported in Toamasina, the country's major seaport and commercial hub, where the National Bureau for Risk and Disaster Management (BNGRC) confirmed 29 deaths.
Two additional fatalities were recorded in a neighbouring district.
At its peak, Gezani unleashed sustained winds of approximately 185 km per hour (115 mph), with gusts surging to nearly 270 kph (167 mph) - strong enough to rip corrugated metal roofs off concrete buildings and snap century-old trees.
"I have never experienced winds this violent ... The doors and windows are made of metal, but they are being violently shaken," said Harimanga Ranaivo, a resident of Toamasina.
In coastal communities, rising sea levels triggered by the storm surge flooded streets, turning roads into rivers and cutting off access to emergency services.
The BNGRC stated that more than 2,740 residents were evacuated to safety, but the aftermath has left 250,406 people classified as "disaster victims". This classification includes those who have lost homes, crops, or livelihoods.
Officials fear the full extent of the damage in remote rural areas outside the city limits may not be known for several days.
The arrival of Gezani comes just 10 days after Tropical Cyclone Fytia struck the same region, killing 14 people and displacing more than 31,000, according to data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The cumulative effect of back-to-back storms has overwhelmed local coping mechanisms. Aid agencies warn that the destruction of rice fields and fruit crops in the severe winds could lead to long-term food shortages in a region where subsistence farming is the primary source of income for millions.
Madagascar is prone to cyclones during the rainy season, which runs from November to April, but scientists say climate change is making these storms more frequent and intense. The warming of the Indian Ocean provides more energy for cyclones, allowing them to intensify rapidly before landfall.
By Wednesday morning, Madagascar's meteorological service reported that Gezani had weakened to a moderate tropical storm as it moved westward inland, roughly 100 km north of the capital, Antananarivo. However, heavy rains continue to pose a threat of landslides in the central highlands.
"Gezani will cross the central highlands from east to west today, before moving out to sea into the Mozambique Channel this evening or tonight," the service said in a bulletin.
Government officials have kept schools shuttered and emergency shelters open as they pivot from rescue operations to assessing the scale of reconstruction needed for the battered port city.
European leaders are meeting in Finland for a high-level summit on Arctic security and cooperation as the region takes on greater strategic importa...
Georgia has been formally integrated into the European Union's Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), bringing Anaklia Deep-Sea Port, Georgi...
Türkiye’s foreign minister has renewed calls for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to disarm and disband, during talks with...
Maritime trackers received new reports of an attack on a ship in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), adding to concerns about energy supplies after Saudi Arabia shut down a vital oil pipeline on Saturday.
A Kyiv-Warsaw train was struck near the Polish border, Ukraine's state railway firm said on Sunday. No passengers were injured. Ukrainian Railways said that the country's railways were facing systematic attacks for a second day and warned of widespread delays.
U.S. Central Command said 101 commercial vessels have been redirected in the Strait of Hormuz, while oil prices rose more than three per cent amid fresh regional attacks and supply concerns.
Swedes vote in an election on Sunday (13 September) that could see the far-right enter government for the first time if the country's right-wing parties can form a majority.
A Russian strike on a farm warehouse in Pryluky, north-central Ukraine, has killed at least three people, local police said. Meanwhile, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said an attack on a train near the Polish border was an attempt to intimidate Ukraine's allies.
August 2026 tied as the hottest month ever recorded globally, pushing average temperatures above the critical 1.5°C threshold as extreme weather swept across several regions, the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service said.
Increasingly intense wildfires and heat waves are threatening global efforts to improve air quality and protect public health, the United Nations’ weather agency has warned.
Vast flocks of storks passed through Türkiye and the Bosporus this week as part of their annual autumn migration from European breeding grounds toward Africa and the Middle East.
China's coastal areas and southern regions are preparing for days of intense precipitation, with tens of thousands of people evacuated as Typhoon Narra tracks inland and another storm churns toward the country's eastern seaboard.
A wildfire in Croatia driven by strong winds descended on the tourist town of Omis overnight, engulfing houses, forcing about 1,000 people to evacuate to safety and injuring dozens, fire brigade and health officials said on Friday.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment