MADAGASCAR – The death toll from Cyclone Gezani in Madagascar rose to 31 on Wednesday Feb. 11, with authorities reporting extensive damage.

An update from the island nation’s disaster agency showed that 29 of the deaths were reported from the city of Toamasina, with two from Ambatondrazaka, while the powerful storm left 36 people seriously injured and four missing.

A further 28 accommodation sites in 16 districts from four regions had been severely affected, with over 250,400 homes damaged and 6,870 people displaced.

The regions were Atsinanana, Analanjirofo and Alaotra-Mangoro in the east along with the central region of Analamanga.

At a meeting of the Malagasy Council of Ministers on Wednesday, a national state of emergency was considered due to the damage caused by Gezani, barely two weeks after Cyclone Fytia, due to the extent of damage and difficulty of recovery.

Cyclone Fytia claimed 12 lives.