Regional Team Rushes to Help Madagascar After Twin Cyclones

When Tropical Cyclone Gezani slammed into Madagascar on February 10, 2026, it was the second major storm to hit the island nation in just 10 days, leaving over 270,000 people in urgent need of help.

The Southern African Development Community didn't wait. Within days, their Emergency Response Team was on the ground, bringing together experts from across the region to support Madagascar's recovery efforts.

The twin cyclones, Fytia and Gezani, brought catastrophic flooding and landslides that destroyed homes, washed out roads and bridges, and cut off essential services across five regions. Families in 18 districts found themselves displaced, their communities transformed by powerful winds and storm surges that reshaped the eastern coastline.

But Madagascar isn't facing this crisis alone. The response team, working alongside MapAction, Rescue South Africa, and the World Food Programme, arrived February 16 with a clear mission: help coordinate search and rescue operations, provide mapping expertise for emergency decisions, and support the government's own response efforts.

The deployment represents something bigger than disaster response. It's a practical example of regional solidarity, where neighboring countries pool their resources and expertise when one of their own faces catastrophe.

Madagascar's National Bureau for Risk and Disaster Management quickly activated its emergency protocols, but the scale of destruction across Atsinanana, Analamanga, Analanjirofo, Itasy, and Alaotra Mangoro regions required additional support. The government's appeal to regional and international partners was met with immediate action.

The Ripple Effect

The SADC team's two-week deployment isn't just about immediate relief. They're working to build a comprehensive picture of what communities need most, ensuring that recovery efforts target the right places with the right resources at the right time.

The Southern African Development Community's Humanitarian and Emergency Operations Centre is coordinating closely with UN agencies and local disaster management teams. This collaboration ensures efforts aren't duplicated and every resource counts toward helping families get back on their feet.

For the affected regions, this means access to specialized skills and equipment that can speed up recovery. For Southern Africa, it strengthens the disaster response network that protects all 16 member states from future climate emergencies.

The model shows how regional cooperation can transform crisis response, creating systems where countries support each other through increasingly frequent extreme weather events.

As teams assess damage and coordinate aid, Madagascar's communities are finding hope in the swift regional response that turned neighbors into partners in recovery.