According to the country’s disaster service, Cyclone Gezani has killed 59 people in Madagascar, while more than a dozen individuals are still missing.
It is the most recent in a series of tropical storms that have hit the southern African island in the past several months. This shows how vulnerable it is to climate change, which is making weather more intense, according to AFP.
The National Office for Risk and Disaster Management (BNRGC) claimed that the cyclone, which hit Madagascar on February 10, had killed at least 59 people across the island and forced more than 16,000 people to leave their homes.
The death toll had been 43 in a prior report.
Most of the deaths were in the port city of Toamasina on the east coast, which used to be called Tamatave. It is Madagascar’s second-largest city, with some 400,000 people living there.
BNRGC says that 15 more persons are still missing over a week after the cyclone hit.
It reported that the damage to homes was huge: 25,000 homes were demolished, 27,000 were flooded, and more than 200 classrooms were either partially or entirely damaged.
Last week, Gezani hit shore with winds of up to 250 kilometers (160 miles) per hour. This made the government proclaim a national emergency.
Pictures revealed a path of destruction over Toamasina, with muddy floodwater still covering the streets in the city center and debris scattered between closed shops and destroyed homes.
People lined up for food at a primary school that had become a relief center, while health workers checked families for malaria as the city slowly began to clean up and take stock of the damage caused by the hurricane.
The World Food Programme said on Friday that “the scale of destruction is overwhelming.” The city is running on only around five percent of its electricity and has no water.
China and France have deployed help to search and rescue teams.
The hurricane mostly missed Mozambique, staying about 50 kilometers (30 miles) off its shore and doing much less damage. However, officials said that at least four people died.
Pope Leo XIV sent his thoughts and condolences to “the people of Madagascar, who have been hit by two cyclones in a row.”
Tropical Cyclone Fytia slammed Madagascar’s northwest in early February. It killed at least seven people and forced more than 20,000 people to leave their homes.
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