Intense Tropical Cyclone Geralda was a powerful tropical cyclone that caused catastrophic damage in Madagascar in late January 1994, among the strongest to hit the country. It was also the most intense tropical cyclone worldwide in 1994. Cyclone Geralda originated from an area of low pressure over the Indian Ocean on 25 January. Over the following few days, the depression underwent gradual intensification, reaching its peak intensity with ten-minute sustained winds of 205 km/h (127 mph) on 31 January. It eventually made landfall near Toamasina, Madagascar after weakening from its peak intensity, and substantially weakened within hours of moving onshore. By 5 February, Geralda had degenerated into a land depression, and became extratropical three days later. Geralda's remnants dissipated on 12 February.

During 1994, tropical cyclones formed within seven different tropical cyclone basins, located within various parts of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. During the year, a total of 124 systems formed with 91 of these developing further and were named by the responsible warning centre. The strongest tropical cyclone of the year was Cyclone Geralda, which was estimated to have a minimum barometric pressure of 905 hPa (26.72 inHg). The deadliest tropical cyclone was Typhoon Fred, which caused 1,248 fatalities in China, while the costliest was Tropical Storm Sharon, which caused an estimated $5.27 billion USD in damage after striking Hong Kong, China and the Philippines. Five Category 5 tropical cyclones formed in 1994. The accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) index for the 1994, as calculated by Colorado State University was 1019 units.