"It looks like a catastrophic landscape," said one resident
Hery Nirina Rabary/AP
NEED TO KNOW
- Officials say 31 people have died due to Cyclone Gezani, which made landfall in Madagascar on Feb. 10
- Another 36 people have been injured in the storm, while four people remain missing
- This is the second cyclone to impact Madagascar in the last two weeks
More than 30 people have died as Cyclone Gezani tears across Madagascar, officials said.
The storm made landfall late on Tuesday, Feb. 10, with wind speeds of more than 121 mph as it impacted the island, which is home to more than 31 million people, according to the Associated Press and Al Jazeera.
A total of 31 deaths have been recorded, including 29 in Toamasina, the country’s second-largest city, and two in Ambatondrazaka, according to a statement shared by the National Office for Risk and Disaster Management (BNGRC) at 4:30 p.m. local time on Wednesday, Feb. 11.
Another 36 people were injured in the storm, and four people are now missing, the BNGRC said. More than 6,800 people have been displaced too.
Hery Nirina Rabary/AP
Gezani has already caused a significant amount of damage, with one resident describing the devastation to Al Jazeera as “monstrous.”
Another resident, identified only as Michel, told the AP that there is much “devastation” on the island due to the storm.
“Roofs have been blown away, walls have collapsed, power poles are down, trees have been uprooted,” Michel explained. “It looks like a catastrophic landscape.”
A third resident, Harimanga Ranaivo, told Reuters, "I have never experienced winds this violent … The doors and windows are made of metal, but they are being violently shaken."
Hery Nirina Rabary/AP
Power has been shut off in Toamasina since Tuesday, according to the AP.
Authorities have warned that “widespread flooding, flash floods, and landslides are highly likely” as the storm pushes to the west on Wednesday, according to Al Jazeera.
Gezani is forecast to move into the channel between Madagascar and Africa’s east coast on Thursday, Feb. 12, and could even re-strengthen into a tropical cyclone before possibly hitting Madagascar’s southwest coast next week, the AP reported.
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This is the second cyclone to impact Madagascar in the last two weeks, according to the AP and Al Jazeera.
The United Nations humanitarian office said the last storm, Tropical Cyclone Fytia, killed 14 people and left more than 31,000 people displaced, according to Reuters.
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