At least 31 people have been confirmed dead after a powerful cyclone swept through Madagascar, according to the country’s disaster management authorities.
Cyclone Gezani made landfall on Tuesday, striking Toamasina, Madagascar’s main port city. The National Office for Risk and Disaster Management described the situation as “total chaos,” reporting widespread destruction and the collapse of houses in the worst-hit areas where most of the bodies were recovered.
Large parts of the city were plunged into darkness after power lines were torn down, while strong winds uprooted trees and ripped roofs off buildings.
“What happened is a disaster. Nearly 75 per cent of the city of Toamasina has been destroyed,” Madagascar’s military leader, Colonel Michael Randrianirina, told AFP. He added that the scale of the disaster had overwhelmed the country’s capacity to respond on its own.
Cyclone forecasters at the CMRS centre on France’s Reunion Island said the storm was likely one of the most intense to hit the city since satellite records began.
The cyclone struck Toamasina, home to about 400,000 people, with winds reaching up to 250 kilometres per hour (155 miles per hour). Disaster officials said many of the fatalities occurred when homes collapsed under the force of the storm.
“It’s total chaos. About 90 per cent of house roofs have been blown off, either partially or completely,” said Rija Randrianarisoa, head of disaster management at the aid group Action Against Hunger, speaking to AFP.
Authorities have since evacuated dozens of injured residents and moved hundreds of people from severely affected districts in and around Toamasina to safer locations.
Residents recounted terrifying scenes as the cyclone made landfall. “I have never experienced winds this violent. The doors and windows are made of metal, but they are being violently shaken,” resident Harimanga Ranaivo told Reuters.
