On Tuesday, February 10, the intense tropical cyclone Gezani made landfall on the east coast of Madagascar. In a matter of moments, exceptionally violent gusts estimated between 180 and 200 km/h wept through the city of Toamasina. The city was quickly brought to a standstill as violent winds devastated homes, submerged entire neighborhoods, cut off roads, and caused widespread power and telecommunications outages.
“Entire neighborhoods are now submerged or devastated. Roads are clogged with debris, uprooted power poles, and downed cables, making travel difficult and dangerous. Electricity and communication networks are down in almost the entire region,” explains Rija Randrianarisoa, emergency response manager for Action Against Hunger in Toamasina.
In the aftermath of the cyclone, many shops and grocery stores remain closed. “The supply of basic necessities remains severely disrupted due to roads that are still partially blocked and logistical constraints, even though the RN2 (national road) has since been reopened. This situation raises fears of shortages and price increases in local markets,” says Randrianarisoa.
The human and material toll is particularly alarming. According to the initial assessment of Tropical Cyclone Gezani by the Ministry of the Interior and Decentralization and the National Office for Risk and Disaster Management (BNGRC), published on February 11, there have been dozens of deaths, missing persons, and injuries, with the current toll standing at 31 dead — including 29 in Toamasina II — as well as four missing persons and 35 injured. Hundreds of thousands of people have been affected, and several thousand have had to be displaced and housed in reception centers.
In the shelters visited by Action Against Hunger and BNGRC teams, toilets, showers, and water tanks have been installed. However, these facilities remain insufficient to cope with the growing influx of victims. With the continuous arrival of new displaced families, several sites could quickly become overcrowded, increasing both health risks and social tensions.
Humanitarian response in a severely hit region
As the humanitarian response gradually begins to take shape, the first sanitation operations began at dawn on February 11, while the city was still plunged into darkness. The fire department and civil protection services responded immediately, supported by the military and gendarmerie, despite limited logistical resources. The fire department and civil protection services responded immediately, supported by the military and gendarmerie, despite limited logistical resources.
Teams from Antananarivo arrived to support those already mobilized in Toamasina. Action Against Hunger immediately provided chainsaws to support the clean-up operations carried out by the Civil Protection Corps and the fire department. Logistical support was also provided to the BNGRC, with a generator and a Starlink satellite connection, in order to maintain coordination despite power cuts and network instability.
The needs, estimated at several million dollars, mainly concern emergency shelters to rehouse more than 6,800 people, access to drinking water, the provision of essential healthcare, as well as food aid and cash transfers. Added to this are the protection of vulnerable people and priority clearance and restoration of essential services.
To meet these urgent needs, Action Against Hunger teams plan to distribute kitchen kits and hygiene kits in several accommodation sites, particularly in Toamasina II, in the coming days.
The organization will also launch rapid reconstruction and repair of homes through cash-for-shelter schemes or the distribution of shelter kits, funded by the European Union (ECHO) and Start Network, in order to relieve congestion at reception sites and enable the resumption of school activities. In addition, mobile water purification stations will be deployed based on the results of ongoing assessments of access to water.
Cyclone Gezani has left behind a deeply scarred region. While the authorities and humanitarian actors are already mobilizing, the scale of the damage points to a long-lasting crisis. Addressing the consequences of this disaster will require significant, better-coordinated support and increased funding to assist with reconstruction and meet the needs of the most affected populations.
