20 People Killed After Powerful Cyclone Tears Through Madagascar
- A powerful cyclone tore through Madagascar, leaving at least 20 people dead and widespread destruction in its wake
- Cyclone Gezani struck the port city of Toamasina with winds of up to 250 km/hour, flattening homes and plunging neighbourhoods into darkness
- Officials described the situation as “total chaos” as emergency teams evacuated residents and assessed the damage
At least 20 people died after Cyclone Gezani struck Madagascar, according to the country’s disaster management office.
According to BBC, the powerful storm made landfall on February 10, hitting Toamasina, the island’s main port and second-largest city. Officials reported that many of the victims were killed when houses collapsed under the force of the winds.
Source: Getty Images
“Total chaos” in Toamasina
The National Office for Risk and Disaster Management described the situation as “total chaos”.
Neighbourhoods were left in darkness after power lines snapped, while trees were uprooted and roofs were torn away. Rija Randrianarisoa, head of disaster management at Action Against Hunger, told AFP: “It’s total chaos, 90% of house roofs have been blown off, entirely or in part.”
Residents shared harrowing accounts of the storm’s impact. 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.”
Winds reached 250 km/hour
Cyclone Gezani hit Toamasina with winds reaching 250 km/hour (155 mph). The CMRS cyclone forecaster on France’s Reunion island said the landfall was likely one of the most intense recorded around the city in the satellite era.
The disaster management office evacuated dozens of injured people and hundreds of residents from affected districts in Toamasina, which is home to about 400,000 people.
Gezani was the second cyclone to hit Madagascar this year. Just 10 days earlier, tropical cyclone Fytia killed 14 people and displaced more than 31,000, according to the UN’s humanitarian office.
Ahead of Gezani’s arrival, schools were closed and emergency shelters prepared.
Cyclone weakens inland
Madagascar’s meteorological service reported on Wednesday morning that Gezani had weakened to a moderate tropical storm. It moved inland about 100 km (60 miles) north of the capital, Antananarivo.
The service said: “Gezani will cross the central highlands from east to west today, before moving out to sea into the Mozambique Channel this evening or tonight.”
Colonel Michael Randrianirina, who seized power in October, visited Toamasina on Wednesday morning to assess the damage. Cyclone season in the Indian Ocean around Madagascar typically lasts from November to April, with around a dozen storms each year, AFP reported.
Source: Getty Images
Cyclone chido kills 94, injures many in Mozambique
Legit.ng earlier reported that violent storm and bad weather, Cyclone Chido has killed nothing less than 94 people in Mozambique. This was an increased from the 73 death toll reported on Thursday, December 19.
The Mozambique National Institute of Disaster Management (INGC) made this known in a statement issued on Sunday, December 22. According to Reuters, the cyclone had made landfall in northern Mozambique a week ago. The cyclone struck on December 15, with winds of 260 km/h (160mph) and 250mm of rainfall tearing across the country in the first 24 hours.
The country's disaster management agency said 768 people were injured and more than 622,000 people were affected by the natural disaster in the eastern African country. The storm was said to have struck the northern provinces that are usually affected by cyclones. This was after the storm ravaged the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte, before progressing to Mozambique, Malawi, and Zimbabwe.
Source: Legit.ng
