Cyclone Gezani's Wrath: Madagascar's Ongoing Struggle

Cyclone Gezani recently devastated Madagascar, marking the island's second major storm this year. It resulted in 59 deaths, thousands displaced, and significant damage. Authorities are now on high alert as forecasts predict Gezani will make a second landfall, threatening further destruction.

Cyclone Gezani, which recently struck Madagascar, claimed the lives of at least 59 people, according to the country's disaster management office on Monday. Authorities are assessing the extensive aftermath of this deadly tropical storm, the second to hit the Indian Ocean island nation this year.

The cyclone displaced 16,428 people, left 15 missing, and injured 804, with over 423,986 individuals affected in total. The National Bureau for Risk and Disaster Management reported that Gezani's path of destruction followed closely in the wake of Tropical Cyclone Fytia, which struck merely 10 days earlier, killing 14 and displacing more than 31,000 people.

With maximum sustained winds of 185 km per hour and gusts reaching 270 km per hour, Gezani was powerful enough to cause massive structural damage, including ripping metal sheeting from roofs and uprooting trees. As the cyclone charted its course across the Mozambique Channel, it produced gusty winds and high waves up to 10 meters in southern Mozambique. Authorities continue to warn of further potential impacts as the storm is expected to loop back toward southwestern Madagascar for a second landfall.

(With inputs from agencies.)