Cyclone Giovanna made landfall in Madagascar [1] [fr] on February 13, 2012, at 20h00 local time. The cyclone is classified as a category 4, with winds of up to 194 km (120 mph) ripping up trees and electricity pylons.
Official reports have stated that there are at least 10 casualties [2] as of now. The two main cities in Madagascar, Antananarivo and Toamasina, were out of power for long stretches of the darkest Valentine's Day yet in the country.
People affected by floods in Madagascar. Image by Minosoa Paniela, used with permission.
Despite the drastic conditions, citizen media users were able to report on the impact of the cyclone in their region. About 1,100 Twitter updates mentioned the cyclone [3] in the past 48 hours. Malagasy residents were posting Facebook photos in their neighborhood and a crowdsourcing interactive map [4] was set up to collect reports from social networks, emails and SMS. A blog solely dedicated to posting photos of the Cyclone [5]in Madagascar was also created.
A crowdsourcing interactive map [4] by a collection of Malagasy bloggers
Here are a few photos and videos that provide a snapshot of the extent of disaster:
[6]Citizens still smiling despite the flood caused by Cyclone Giovanna by Twitter user @aKoloina
[7]The River Imamba floods home and cars in Sabotsy Namena by giovanna77.blogg.org
[8]Queueing in the flood. Image by Madaplus.fr