Tropical cyclone Gezani slams into Madagascar, killing nine

Tropical cyclone Gezani slammed into Madagascar's eastern coastline, killing nine people in the Indian Ocean island nation's second-largest city, as walls of wind and rain left a trail of devastation, authorities said on Wednesday.

Madagascar's disaster management office said that 19 people had been injured and nearly 1,500 residents were evacuated as a precaution in a district around the port city of Toamasina after Gezani pummelled coastal communities before sweeping inland.

Residents in and around Toamasina described scenes of chaos as the cyclone made landfall. "I have never experienced winds this violent...The doors and windows are made of metal, but they are being violently shaken," said Harimanga Ranaivo.

It was the second cyclone to hit Madagascar this year, 10 days after tropical cyclone Fytia killed 14 and displaced over 31,000 people, according to the UN's humanitarian office.

At its peak, Gezani unleashed sustained winds of about 185 km per hour, with gusts surging to nearly 270 km per hour - powerful enough to rip metal sheeting from rooftops and uproot large trees.

Ahead of the cyclone's arrival, officials shuttered schools and rushed to prepare emergency shelters.

Madagascar's National Bureau for Risk and Disaster Management had warned earlier that rising sea levels in Toamasina were already flooding streets.

Homes collapsed under the pressure of the winds, roofs were torn away, walls crumbled and neighbourhoods were plunged into darkness as power lines snapped.

By Wednesday morning, Madagascar's meteorological service said Gezani had weakened to a moderate tropical storm and had moved westward inland, about 100 km north of the capital, Antananarivo.

"Gezani will cross the central highlands from east to west today, before moving out to sea into the Mozambique Channel this evening or tonight," the service said.