An estimated 35 people have been reported dead in the wake of a 155-mile-an-hour cyclone that made landfall at Madagascar's Port Toamasina on February 10, as emergency crews have raced to assess the full extent of the damage along the country’s eastern coastline.
BBC News reports that cyclone Gezani has knocked out power for whole neighborhoods in the country's second largest city, while flooding roads, collapsing trees onto homes and displacing up to 250,000 people. Madagascar's disaster management office described the situation as "total chaos," driven by concerns over disruptions to critical food supply chains, fuel transport and medical access, with most major roads cut off.
"What happened is a disaster, nearly 75% of the city of Toamasina was destroyed," said the country's military leader Colonel Michael Randrianirina.
Speaking to BBC News, the country's Environment Minister Max Fontaine Andonirina said that it's likely going to take years to fully recover from the damage to infrastructure and homes. Madagascar has also been hit hard by cyclones for the better part of the last three years, most recently by tropical cyclone Fytia, which killed 14 people and displaced another 31,000 just 10 days prior to the arrival of Gezani.
