By Ted Watts, Senior Surgeon and Missionary Team Leader at the Good News Hospital, Mandritsara 17 February 2026
A week has passed since Cyclone Gezani tore through Tamatave on Tuesday 10th February with a fury this city had not witnessed in at least 40 years. Madagascar’s main port — the economic heartbeat of the nation — almost 200 miles by air from Mandritsara (there is no direct road) has been brought to its knees.
Watch this video to hear about the urgent needs facing the church in Tamatave in the aftermath of Cyclone Gezani (if you can’t see it via the email visit the story here: Click Here to watch the video)
Approaching the city from the air, the devastation is evident. Villages on the outskirts appear flattened. Entire clusters of homes look as though they have simply been pressed into the earth. Many trees lie on their side, their trunks snapped or uprooted entirely by the winds.
On the ground, the scale becomes more personal.
Walk through almost any neighbourhood and you see the same scene repeated: houses stripped bare, roofs torn away partially or completely, leaving families exposed to the elements. Walls have collapsed inward. Belongings lie soaked and scattered. Tarpaulins and salvaged sheets of corrugated metal now serve as makeshift shelters, tied down with rope and stones.
The trees themselves tell the story. Many stand splintered and naked, completely stripped of their leaves, their branches torn and twisted. They give the city an almost post-apocalyptic feel. Tamatave’s famous avenue of palm trees — some well over a hundred years old — now lies broken. Great trunks stretch across the roads. Others lean at impossible angles, roots exposed.
The city remains without reliable water or electricity. As we walked through the streets, we stepped over thick power lines criss-crossing our path — some with shredded ends dangling into standing water. The infrastructure damage is extensive, and officials are warning that it may be weeks before essential services are fully restored. In the tropical heat, the absence of running water has become a daily crisis. Nights fall into complete darkness.
From Friday to Sunday, I travelled to Tamatave as part of a small team drawn from several organisations in Madagascar. The team included Pastor Mamy (Director of SIM Madagascar), Pastor Faly (a member of both the hospital board and the Bible Baptist Church board), Antsa (from MAF — Mission Aviation Fellowship), and Dr Tefy (one of our surgical residents).
Mamy, Tefy, Ted, Vanessa, Antsa, Faly
We went at the invitation of the Bible Baptist churches of Tamatave, whose buildings have been substantially or completely destroyed by Cyclone Gezani. Our aim was simple: to understand the situation better and to listen carefully to what the needs actually are. What we discovered was sobering.
All four FBBM churches in Tamatave have had their buildings substantially or entirely destroyed. Many church members have also lost the roofs from their homes. All are living without power, without running water, in a city that is barely functioning — with healthcare systems severely compromised, schools and universities out of action, and thousands of people who have lost homes and livelihoods.
Ambolomadinika Church
At Ambolomadinika Church, we met Pastor Miarana. He has only recently completed his theological training and taken on responsibility for the church. His own home has been severely affected. His children are currently sleeping in their beds with umbrellas propped open above them so that, if it rains during the night, they do not get wet.
And yet, as we sat together, his primary concern was not his own family but his congregation. “We must help them first,” he said.
Salazamay Church
At Salazamay, we met Pastor Euphrase. The church building there, constructed in the 1980s with substantial sections of wall made from flattened oil drums, did not withstand the cyclone. It has been completely obliterated. His home has gone too, along with much of his family’s possessions.
Salazamay church
Across the four churches, approximately 111 households have lost roofs — and in some cases walls, furniture and belongings.
In discussion with the church leaders, four clear areas of need were identified:
Immediate practical assistance for church members — rice, charcoal, thermoses for boiling and safely storing water. Funding for this first emergency phase has already been received from international partners.Reconstruction of the four church buildings. The current working estimate for rebuilding is in the region of 200 million Ariary in total (nearly £40,000). Detailed costings are now being refined.
Assistance for church families who have lost roofs — and in some cases walls, furniture and possessions.
Compassionate support for those living in the immediate community (Fokontany) surrounding each church. The intention is not to attempt to meet the needs of the entire city — that would be overwhelming — but the churches carry a deep burden to show practical love in their immediate neighbourhoods
Sunday Morning at Amolomadinika Church
On Sunday morning, the four Baptist churches gathered together for a joint service in the shell of the Ambolomadinika building.
It was a blisteringly hot Tamatave morning. Not a cloud in the sky. As we sheltered beneath a tarpaulin stretched across broken wooden beams, Psalm 91 was read: “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.”
The choir sang, “Yes, You, Jesus, are Lord of all things.”
The church buildings have fallen. Many in the congregation had come from homes without roofs. But there is a far greater shelter to be found — a far greater dwelling that is promised — in the shadow of the Almighty.
There was heartfelt thanksgiving that none of the congregation had died in the storm. And there was quiet but unmistakable confidence that the Lord remains Lord, even when so much feels unstable and uncertain.
After prayerful consideration, The Friends of Mandritsara Trust UK are launching a Cyclone Church Relief Fund focused specifically on need 2: rebuilding the four Baptist church buildings.
The Friends of Mandritsara Trust (UK) has pledged to the Bible Baptist Church in Madagascar that we will seek to raise £10,000 toward this need.
Would you consider helping us meet that target?
To donate, please follow this link:
https://www.mandritsara.org.uk/give-oneoff
Under “online giving” you can click on Paypal or Stewardship to give through either of those two means. And you can also see how you can claim gift aid.
Please also join us in prayer for the people of Tamatave and for the Baptist churches as they seek to rebuild.
Pray:
For those who have lost homes or livelihoods.
For the restoration of running water and electricity as soon as possible.
For endurance and wisdom for pastors and church leaders.
That Christ would be honoured in the midst of loss and devastation, and that the witness of the Church will shine brightly in the darkness.
Tamatave will rebuild. It will take time. But the Church there is standing — not because its walls are intact, but because its foundation is secure. Thank you for standing with them.