Cyclone Geralda
In late January of 1994, Madagascar was hit by a crippling tropical cyclone from the Indian Ocean. Cyclone Geralda was a category 5 storm which arose from low pressure in the Indian Ocean. It lasted from January 26th to February 8th, 1994. After several days, the storm had winds reaching 200 km/h. The highest gusts of wind during the cyclone reached up to 350 km/h. The cyclone caused heavy rainfall which led to intense flooding, especially in the valleys. There was severe damage done to the roads. Around 231 people died from the storm as well as over 10,000 cattle killed by the storm. Over 740,000 acres of crop fields were destroyed throughout the country. The country experienced food and fuel shortages throughout and close to 40% of their communications network were knocked offline. Over 40,000 houses were destroyed by the cyclone. Madagascar's only petroleum refinery was obliterated and the cost for it was around $800,000. The approximate economic damage that the storm caused was estimated to be over $10 million.
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