A tropical cyclone¹ has hit the island of Madagascar, with winds of up to 194km/h (120mph) ripping up trees and electricity pylons².

一股热带气旋袭击马达加斯加岛，194km/h的大风将树木和电线杆拔地而起。

At least two people have been killed by Cyclone Giovanna, and there are reports of up to five deaths.

Head of the charity Care told the BBC that 60% of homes in one eastern town had either been damaged or destroyed.

Meteorologists（气象学家） warn the damage may be as bad as in 1994, when a cyclone killed 200 people and displaced 40,000.

Cyclone Giovanna made landfall overnight near the eastern port city of Toamasina, also known locally as Tamatave, 200km (about 125 miles) from the capital, Antananarivo.

Power cut

Antananarivo-based journalist Tim Healy told the BBC's Network Africa programme that the capital city experienced very high winds and heavy rainfall for most of the day.

Emergency service vehicles have been out in Antananarivo on Tuesday clearing up the debris³.

People are staying at home as offices, schools and businesses have been shut and the power has been cut in many areas.

He says he has been unable to ask residents along the eastern coast about the extent of the damage because telephone lines have been brought down by the cyclone.

He warns it could be serious - given that many coastal⁴ villagers live in simple houses built of wood and leaves.

There are reports of mudslides along the main Toamasina-Antananarivo road.

Toamasina, Madagascar's main port, has not been as badly damaged as initially⁵ thought, director of the charity Care International John Davis told the BBC.

But preliminary assessments⁶ of the smaller town of Vatomandry - which is home to about 40,000 people and is less than 50km south of where Cyclone Giovanna first hit land - has been badly damaged, he said.

"Our people on the ground in Vatomandry estimate that at least 60% of homes were damaged or destroyed," he said.

"The sturdier houses may have just lost roofs, while traditional structures made of palm leaves and bamboo were often destroyed," he added.

Care says it will begin helicopter flights on Wednesday to further assess the damage in the wider Vatomandry district and see where help for those left without shelter or food is most needed.

He said at least five people were thought to have died in the area but that number was likely to increase as more information emerged about the impact of Cyclone Giovanna.

Two people have been killed in the inland sugar-producing town of Brickaville, a government official told the Reuters news agency.