A powerful cyclone struck Madagascar's main port, causing widespread destruction and damage to many homes. The latest reports confirm 20 fatalities.
Foreign news agencies reported that Cyclone "Gezani" made landfall in Madagascar on Tuesday and hit Toamasina, the island's principal port city. At least 20 deaths have been reported due to the storm's impact.
Madagascar's disaster management office stated that Cyclone Gezani struck Toamasina, the country's second-largest city, with wind speeds reaching 250 kilometers per hour. Many victims died as buildings collapsed.
Officials added that the storm caused severe chaos, leaving residential areas in darkness due to fallen power poles, uprooted trees, and roofs being blown away.
The disaster management office has evacuated hundreds of injured people and residents from areas surrounding Toamasina.
Gezani is the second cyclone to hit Madagascar this year, following Tropical Cyclone Fytia which killed 14 people and displaced over 31,000 ten days ago, according to the United Nations humanitarian office.
Meanwhile, AFP cited the CMRS, the cyclone forecasting center on the French island of Réunion, reporting that Cyclone Gezani may be one of the strongest cyclones to ever make landfall in Madagascar since satellite records began.
Madagascar's meteorological department said Wednesday morning that Gezani had weakened to a moderate tropical storm and was moving westward overland, about 100 kilometers north of the capital, Antananarivo.
"Gezani will move across the central highlands from east to west today before moving into the Mozambique Channel by this evening or tonight," the agency said.
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Source:bbc