Cyclone Gezani Brings Severe Damage to Madagascar Region

Madagascar Hit by Cyclone Gezani 11 Days After Fytia

A cyclone has struck Madagascar, just 11 days after another storm, Cyclone Fytia, caused widespread damage and displaced thousands of people in the country’s northwestern region. The national weather service, Meteo Madagascar, has warned that hurricane-force winds and heavy rains are expected to continue as Cyclone Gezani moves across the Indian Ocean island nation.

Residents have reported extensive damage, including flooding, electricity outages, and widespread destruction of homes. A resident in Toamasina, a port city on Madagascar’s east coast, described the scene as “monstrous” with roofs blown off, floors flooded, and walls collapsing. The city’s port was directly hit by the cyclone’s most intense part.

Colonel Michael Randrianirina, who has been in power since an October military coup, plans to visit Toamasina to assess the situation. The CMRS cyclone forecaster on France’s Reunion island confirmed that the storm’s landfall was one of the most intense recorded in the region during the satellite era.

Cyclone Gezani made landfall on Tuesday night and is expected to move into the Mozambique Channel between Maintirano and Morondava tomorrow evening or overnight. The storm has already caused significant damage, including 18,600 houses flooded, damaged, or destroyed, as well as 493 classrooms and 20 health facilities affected.

The United Nations’ humanitarian agency, OCHA, reported that Cyclone Fytia displaced 31,000 people and caused extensive losses to rice fields. Climate change is expected to make tropical storms more intense, with island nations particularly at risk due to rising sea levels and warming oceans causing heavier rains.

Source: Al Jazeera