A view of Toamasina, on the east coast of Madagascar, struck by Tropical Cyclone Gezani on February 11, 2026. TSIKY SIKONINA / AFP
A cyclone packing violent winds killed at least 20 people as it struck Madagascar, toppling houses and causing major flooding, the Indian Ocean island’s disaster authority said on Wednesday, February 11.
Cyclone Gezani made landfall on Tuesday, slamming into the country’s second-largest city, Toamasina, with winds reaching 250 kilometers per hour. The National Office for Risk and Disaster Management (BNRGC) said it had recorded 20 deaths, many after houses had collapsed. Fifteen people were missing and at least 33 had been hurt, it said, updating earlier tolls.
“What happened is a disaster: nearly 75% of the city of Toamasina was destroyed,” said the country’s new leader, Colonel Michael Randrianirina, who had traveled to Toamasina ahead of the cyclone’s landfall to support residents. “The current situation exceeds Madagascar’s capabilities alone,” said Randrianirina, who seized power in October, calling on “international partners and donors” to support the impoverished island.
Drone footage shared by the BNRGC on social media showed major flooding in the east coast city of 400,000 people, about 220 kilometers northeast of the capital Antananarivo, with residents wading through water and roofs ripped off buildings. The city appeared battered, its streets littered with trees uprooted by the force of the cyclone.
The storm had also caused carnage in the Atsinanana region surrounding the city, the authority said, adding that post-disaster assessments were still underway. “It’s total chaos: 90% of house roofs have been blown off, entirely or in part,” said Rija Randrianarisoa, the head of disaster management at the Action Against Hunger humanitarian group. “The roads are completely inaccessible because of trees on the ground, sheet metal,” he told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
‘It’s monstruous’
The CMRS cyclone forecaster on France’s Reunion island confirmed Tuesday that Toamasina had been “directly hit by the most intense part” of the storm. The cyclone’s landfall was likely one of the most intense recorded in the region during the satellite era, rivaling Geralda in February 1994, it said. That storm left at least 200 dead and affected half a million more.
A Toamasina resident told AFP by telephone late Tuesday that the winds had collapsed solid walls. “It’s monstrous,” the resident added. Commercial flights to Toamasina airport were suspended except for humanitarian and military flights, airport management told AFP. Fifteen members of the army’s civil protection unit were dispatched to assist with rescue operations, authorities announced.
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The cyclone weakened after landfall but continued to sweep across the island, posing the risk of flooding despite being downgraded to a tropical storm. It is forecast to return to cyclone status as it reaches the Mozambique Channel, according to the CMRS, and could from Friday evening strike southern Mozambique, which has already faced devastating flooding since the beginning of the year.