At least 20 people died in connection with Tropical Cyclone Gezani, which made landfall in Madagascar’s main port city, authorities announced on Wednesday (February 11) via the Associated Press.
Winds were reported to have exceeded 121 MPH and red alerts were issued by Madagascar’s weather service for several regions regarding potential floods and landslides. Gezani reportedly moved across the large Indian Ocean island, which has an estimated population of 31 million people, many of which face poverty and had inadequate shelter during the natural disaster.
Madagascar is prone to cyclones blowing in off the Indian Ocean and had already been battered by Tropical Cyclone Fytia less than two weeks prior. At least 20 deaths and at least 30 others sustaining injuries were linked to building collapses that occurred after the cyclone made landfall late Tuesday (February 10) in Toamasina, according to the National Office for Risk and Disaster Management.
Fifteen people were reported missing and more 2,700 were evacuated, according to the agency. Toamasina has an estimated population of around 300,000 residents and was reported to have sustained severe damage, with the majority of the 20 deaths reported within the region, according to authorities.
“It’s devastation. Roofs have been blown away, walls have collapsed, power poles are down, trees have been uprooted. It looks like a catastrophic landscape,” a resident who only gave his first name, Michel, said in a phone interview with the Associated Press.
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