At least 31 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 where the bodies were found.
Neighborhoods were plunged into darkness as power lines snapped, while trees were uprooted and roofs ripped off.
What happened is a disaster, nearly 75% of the city of Toamasina was destroyed, stated Colonel Michael Randrianirina, the country's military leader who seized power in October. The current situation exceeds Madagascar's capabilities alone.
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. Winds reached 250 km/h (155 mph), killing many when houses collapsed.
Rija Randrianarisoa, head of disaster management at the Action Against Hunger aid agency, elaborated, It’s total chaos, 90% of house roofs have been blown off, entirely or in part.
Madagascar's disaster management office has evacuated dozens of injured individuals and hundreds of residents from a district surrounding Toamasina, which is home to 400,000 people.
Residents in and around Toamasina described agonizing scenes as the cyclone struck. I have never experienced winds this violent... The doors and windows are made of metal, but they are being violently shaken, Harimanga Ranaivo expressed.
Cyclone Gezani is the second cyclone to terrorize Madagascar this year, following tropical cyclone Fytia which killed 14 and displaced over 31,000 people just 10 days earlier, reports the UN's humanitarian office.
With schools shuttered and emergency shelters prepared ahead of the cyclone's arrival, the area is bracing for the aftermath as Madagascar's meteorological service reported that Gezani had weakened to a moderate tropical storm and moved westward inland by Wednesday morning, over 100 kilometers north of the capital, Antananarivo.
Cyclone season in the Indian Ocean around Madagascar typically runs from November to April, generating around a dozen storms annually.
Cyclone Gezani made landfall on Tuesday, hitting the island's main port, Toamasina. Madagascar's disaster management office reported “total chaos” with houses collapsing where the bodies were found.
Neighborhoods were plunged into darkness as power lines snapped, while trees were uprooted and roofs ripped off.
What happened is a disaster, nearly 75% of the city of Toamasina was destroyed, stated Colonel Michael Randrianirina, the country's military leader who seized power in October. The current situation exceeds Madagascar's capabilities alone.
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. Winds reached 250 km/h (155 mph), killing many when houses collapsed.
Rija Randrianarisoa, head of disaster management at the Action Against Hunger aid agency, elaborated, It’s total chaos, 90% of house roofs have been blown off, entirely or in part.
Madagascar's disaster management office has evacuated dozens of injured individuals and hundreds of residents from a district surrounding Toamasina, which is home to 400,000 people.
Residents in and around Toamasina described agonizing scenes as the cyclone struck. I have never experienced winds this violent... The doors and windows are made of metal, but they are being violently shaken, Harimanga Ranaivo expressed.
Cyclone Gezani is the second cyclone to terrorize Madagascar this year, following tropical cyclone Fytia which killed 14 and displaced over 31,000 people just 10 days earlier, reports the UN's humanitarian office.
With schools shuttered and emergency shelters prepared ahead of the cyclone's arrival, the area is bracing for the aftermath as Madagascar's meteorological service reported that Gezani had weakened to a moderate tropical storm and moved westward inland by Wednesday morning, over 100 kilometers north of the capital, Antananarivo.
Cyclone season in the Indian Ocean around Madagascar typically runs from November to April, generating around a dozen storms annually.
