ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar (AP) — Tropical Cyclone Gezani collapsed houses in Madagascar's main port city and left at least 31 people dead as it crossed the Indian Ocean island with high winds and rain, authorities said Wednesday.
Madagascar's weather service issued red alerts for several regions warning of possible floods and landslides as the storm made landfall late Tuesday with wind speeds of more than 195 kph (121 mph). It then roared across the large island of 31 million people, many of whom live in poverty and have inadequate shelter from storms.
Madagascar is especially vulnerable to cyclones blowing in off the Indian Ocean and was battered by another deadly cyclone less than two weeks ago.
The National Office for Risk and Disaster Management said building collapses caused some of the at least 31 deaths, and at least 36 other people were seriously injured as Gezani made landfall in the eastern city of Toamasina. The agency said four people were missing and more than 6,000 people were displaced from their homes.
Toamasina, with around 300,000 residents, sustained severe damage, residents told The Associated Press. The majority of the deaths were in that region, authorities said.
President Michael Randrianirina, who took power in a military coup in October, visited Toamasina to survey damage and meet residents, according to videos posted on his office's Facebook page. The videos showed flooded neighborhoods, homes and shops with windows blown out and roofs blown off, and trees and other debris strewn across streets.
Randrianirina's office said around 75% of the city's infrastructure had been damaged or destroyed.
"It’s devastation. Roofs have been blown away, walls have collapsed, power poles are down, trees have been uprooted. It looks like a catastrophic landscape,” resident Michel, who gave only his first name, said by phone.
Power has been cut off in Toamasina since Tuesday.
Gezani on Wednesday moved west across Madagascar, weakening to a tropical storm as it moved inland, according to the national weather service. The storm passed around 100 kilometers (62 miles) north of the capital, Antananarivo, one of the regions under a red alert warning for possible flooding.
Forecasts showed Gezani was expected to move into the channel between Madagascar and Africa’s east coast on Thursday, and warned it might strengthen into a tropical cyclone again and turn back toward Madagascar’s southwest coast next week.
Authorities in Mozambique, where devastating floods last month impacted more than 700,000 people, also issued weather alerts and warned that three of its coastal provinces on the Indian Ocean could feel the effects of Gezani if it strengthens again.
Tropical Cyclone Fytia hit on Jan. 31 and killed 14 people in Madagascar and displaced more than 85,000, according to the disaster management agency.
The United Nations released $3 million from its emergency response fund to help Madagascar prepare for the impacts of Gezani, spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said Monday.
Cyclone season in Madagascar is from around November to March and brings repeated weather disasters to one of the world's poorest countries, which barely has time to recover before another hits.
Madagascar, the world's fourth largest island, has been impacted by more than a dozen tropical storms or cyclones since 2020. The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction says they cause an estimated $85 million worth of damage to infrastructure each year that impedes the nation's development.
AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa
People survey the damage done by cyclone Gezina in Toamasina, Madagascar, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Hery Nirina Rabary)
People survey the damage done by cyclone Gezina in Toamasina, Madagascar, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Hery Nirina Rabary)
People survey the damage done by cyclone Gezina in Toamasina, Madagascar, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Hery Nirina Rabary)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Luka Doncic will miss the rest of the Los Angeles Lakers' regular season with a Grade 2 strain of his left hamstring, the team announced Friday.
Doncic is the NBA's top scorer and the driving force behind the Lakers' surge into the third spot in the Western Conference standings, but he injured his leg during Los Angeles' blowout loss in Oklahoma City on Thursday. An MRI exam revealed the severity of the strain.
The Pacific Division champion Lakers (50-27) have just five games left before the postseason, starting Sunday at Dallas.
Grade 2 hamstring strains sometimes require several weeks of recovery, but Doncic also has prior experience with hamstring issues. He missed four games right before the All-Star break with another left hamstring strain, but returned to the lineup after the break.
Doncic is putting up spectacular numbers in his first full season with the Lakers, who acquired the Slovenian superstar from the Mavericks last season. He is averaging 33.5 points, 8.3 assists and 7.7 rebounds per game for Los Angeles, and he was named the NBA's Western Conference player of the month for March after racking up 13 consecutive 30-point performances, including seven 40-point games, a 51-point barrage against Chicago and a 60-point masterclass in Miami.
Doncic scored a whopping 600 points in March, becoming only the 10th player in NBA history to hit that mark in one month. While LeBron James and Austin Reaves have also played well down the stretch, the Lakers thoroughly depend on Doncic, who either scored or assisted on 58% of the their total points in March.
Doncic is all but certain to win his second NBA scoring title — but he has played in only 64 games this season, which means he will finish one game shy of the 65-game threshold to be eligible for the NBA's biggest postseason awards.
He was a lock to be an All-NBA selection, and he had even been making a late run at consideration for the MVP award with his outstanding play down the stretch.
Along with his two absences caused by hamstring injuries and a handful of additional absences for minor medical maintenance early in the season, Doncic missed two games last December while flying to Slovenia for the birth of his second child. He also missed one game last week under suspension for accumulating 16 technical fouls.
Since he sits just shy of the 65-game threshold, Doncic theoretically could challenge the rule by citing the extraordinary circumstances of his daughter's birth in Europe through the grievance process created for these collectively bargained rules. It's wholly unclear whether that appeal would have any chance of success.
If Doncic wins the scoring title but doesn't make the All-NBA teams, he would be only the third scoring champ in league history to fail to do so. Elvin Hayes wasn't selected when he won the crown as a rookie in 1969, and Bob McAdoo wasn't chosen for the teams in 1976.
Lakers coach JJ Redick said Doncic was injured in the first half against the Thunder, but was cleared to return to the game while his team was getting plastered by the defending NBA champion Thunder. Doncic lasted only about four minutes before he spun, stopped and went down on the court in pain, leading to his departure.
The loss was only the Lakers' third in 19 games since Feb. 26, but Doncic's absence casts a cloud of uncertainty over the rest of their year. Los Angeles only leads fourth-place Denver (49-28) by one game, while sixth-place Minnesota (46-30) is 3 1/2 games back with a game in hand.
The Lakers’ regular-season finale is next Sunday, April 12, at home against Utah. Their first-round playoff series is expected to start the following weekend.
AP Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds contributed to this report.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA
Los Angeles Lakers forward/guard Luka Dončić (77) drives against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace (22) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, April. 2, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Gerald Leong)
Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) gestures after a three-point basket against the Indiana Pacers during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Indianapolis, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) is fouled by Orlando Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. (34) as Magic forward Tristan da Silva, right, helps defend during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, March 21, 2026, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
