According to the National Office for Risk and Disaster Management (BNRGC), at least 59 people have died nationwide since the cyclone made landfall on February 10, News.Az reports, citing AFP.
More than 16,000 people have been displaced by rising floodwaters. A previous official report had listed 43 fatalities.
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The majority of the deaths were recorded in the eastern port city of Toamasina, formerly known as Tamatave. With a population of around 400,000, it is Madagascar’s second-largest urban centre and bore the brunt of the storm’s destruction.
Nearly a week after the cyclone struck, 15 people remain unaccounted for, BNRGC said.
The scale of damage to infrastructure and housing has been extensive. Authorities reported that around 25,000 homes were destroyed, another 27,000 flooded, and more than 200 classrooms either partially or completely damaged.
Cyclone Gezani hit Madagascar with winds exceeding 250 kilometres (160 miles) per hour, prompting the government to declare a national emergency. Images from the affected areas showed widespread devastation, with central streets in Toamasina still submerged under muddy water and debris scattered among shuttered shops and damaged houses.
Residents have been lining up for food assistance at makeshift relief centres, including a primary school converted into an aid distribution hub. Health workers have been screening families for malaria as cleanup operations begin and authorities assess the full impact of the disaster.
The World Food Programme warned on Friday that “the scale of destruction is overwhelming,” noting that Toamasina was operating on roughly five percent of its electricity supply and remained without running water.
International assistance has begun to arrive, with China and France providing support for search-and-rescue operations.
While the cyclone inflicted severe damage in Madagascar, neighbouring Mozambique was largely spared after the storm tracked about 50 kilometres (30 miles) off its coast. Authorities there reported at least four deaths.
On Sunday, Pope Leo XIV expressed condolences and offered prayers for “the people of Madagascar, who have been struck by two cyclones in quick succession.”
Earlier in February, Madagascar’s northwest was hit by Tropical Cyclone Fytia, which killed at least seven people and displaced more than 20,000. The back-to-back storms have highlighted the island nation’s vulnerability to increasingly extreme weather events, which scientists link to climate change.
