Madagascar Calls for Foreign Help After Cyclone Gezani Devastation

Authorities in Madagascar said the storm struck the eastern port of Toamasina on February 11 with winds reaching 250 kilometres per hour, or 75 m/s at the core.

The National Office for Risk and Disaster Management counted more than 40 deaths, roughly 260,000 affected people, and at least 12,000 displaced.

The leader Michael Randrianirina called for “international solidarity,” adding the storm had “ravaged up to 75 percent of Toamasina and surrounds.”

The city of about 400,000 residents saw roads cut, telecommunications disrupted, and the main highway to Antananarivo blocked, halting aid convoys.

Infrastructure Collapse After Landfall

Damage assessments listed over 18,000 homes destroyed and more than 50,000 damaged or flooded. Drone footage released by disaster authorities showed roofs torn away and trees scattered across dense urban neighborhoods.

Authorities appointed interim administrators in Alaotra-Mangoro, Analanjirofo and Atsinanana to manage relief distribution.

Logistics Bottlenecks Limit Relief

Rescue teams were deployed immediately, yet debris and flood damage slowed deliveries of essential goods. Telecommunications instability further complicated coordination among relief units.

Regional forecaster CMRS said Toamasina was “directly hit by the most intense part” of the cyclone. The storm weakened into a tropical storm after crossing the island but maintained destructive rainfall.

The cyclone season runs November to April and averages around a dozen storms annually, yet officials described this landfall as among the strongest in the satellite era, comparable to a February 1994 cyclone that killed at least 200 people and affected 500,000.

Regional Spillover Risk

After crossing the island, the storm moved toward the Mozambique Channel and was forecast to strike Mozambique on February 13. Authorities there issued a yellow alert and warned of 10-metre waves and violent winds.

Mozambique already recorded nearly 140 deaths from seasonal flooding since October 1, compounding vulnerability.

Capacity Gap Drives Appeal

Government statements stressed that domestic emergency stocks were insufficient, particularly food and shelter materials. Foreign partners and charities were urged to mobilize rapidly.

The scale of destruction, 75% infrastructure damage in the country’s second-largest city and tens of thousands of homes lost, shifted the crisis from local disaster management to international humanitarian coordination, underscoring a recurring vulnerability in southwest Indian Ocean disaster response - severe infrastructure damage quickly overwhelms national capacity, isolating population centers and delaying humanitarian access.