 Cyclone Kesiny struck Madagascar during a period of political strife after the Malagasy presidential election in 2001 . In the election , incumbent president Didier Ratsiraka lost to Marc Ravalomanana , but rejected the results ; after the election , Ratsiraka declared the city of Toamasina as the new capital of the country . The political crisis caused difficulties after the storm in distributing food , and Ratsiraka 's operational center in the city was damaged . During the storm , Toamasina experienced severe flooding , forcing hundreds of residents to evacuate their homes . Emergency volunteers provided water and food to the affected residents . Workers from the World Health Organization and Médecins Sans Frontières ( Doctors Without Borders ) provided medical assistance to residents in Toamasina during the storm . Damaged roads contributed to economic contraction , after trucks were unable to use roads and bridges in the eastern portion of the country . By October , the political crisis had ended , and the government repaired most of the damaged infrastructure . The cost of repairing the roads and bridges was about $ 2 @.@ 5 million ( 2002 USD ) , which was paid by a $ 50 million credit from the World Bank Group . Due to poor harvest related to the storm in some areas , the World Food Programme provided 18 @,@ 000 tonnes of food to 394 @,@ 250 residents , beginning in November 2002 at the request of the Malagasy government . After the storm , the government of Norway donated kr1.2 million ( 2002 Norwegian krone , 172 @,@ 000 USD ) for storm relief , and the government of Switzerland provided about $ 33 @,@ 000 ( USD ) . 
