Very Intense Tropical Cyclone Gafilo was both the most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded in the South-West Indian Ocean and the most intense tropical cyclone worldwide in 2004. Being unusually large and intense, Gafilo was the deadliest and most destructive cyclone of the 2003–04 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season. According to the EM-DAT International Disaster Database, Gafilo killed at least 363 people. Gafilo also caused about $250 million damages in Madagascar, which makes it one of the most devastating storms to hit the country on reliable record.

Mahajanga is a city and an administrative district on the northwest coast of Madagascar. The city of Mahajanga is the capital of the Boeny Region. The district had a population of 258,068 in 2020.