Cyclone Gezani Shreds Madagascar Port City, Leaving At Least 9 Dead

“Catastrophic” is how one resident describes the devastation left in Madagascar in the wake of Cyclone Gezani.

The cyclone is blamed for at least nine deaths after making landfall Tuesday with sustained winds reaching an estimated 125 mph — the equivalent of a Category 3 hurricane.

Dramatic video and photos show the destruction across the eastern port town of Toamasina. The country’s National Office for Risk and Disaster Management said the deaths happened as buildings collapsed. At least 19 other people were injured.

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“It’s devastation. Roofs have been blown away, walls have collapsed, power poles are down, trees have been uprooted. It looks like a catastrophic landscape,” Toamasina resident Michel, who gave only his first name, said by phone to the Associated Press.

Floods and landslides remained a threat on Wednesday as officials said they were continuing to assess the damage.

Gezani will soon enter the Mozambique Channel and is expected to restrengthen to a Category 1 or 2 storm later this week as it takes a southward curl, says weather.com senior meteorologist Jonathan Erdman.

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He adds, “How soon and sharp that curl happens will determine whether it will directly impact parts of southern Mozambique, particularly Inhambane Province, or if it will remain over water.”

Gezani hit less than two weeks after Tropical Cyclone Fytia killed 14 people in Madagascar, according to the risk and disaster management agency. That storm affected more than 200,000 people across the country’s northwest, says the United Nations humanitarian agency, OCHA.

Ahead of Cyclone Gezani’s landfall, the UN released $3 million for emergency response, food and supplies.