The French archipelago Mayotte lies devastated this week after an unprecedented cyclone struck the country's poorest department – its impact magnified by chronic infrastructure failings and a migration crisis that saw thousands avoid emergency shelter for fear of deportation.
With winds exceeding 220 kilometres per hour – a ferocity not seen since the 1930s – Cyclone Chido lashed the Indian Ocean territory, where more than 77 percent of people survive below the poverty line and a third live in homes made of sheet metal and other lightweight materials.
"Ninety percent of Mamoudzou is totally devastated – without water, without food, without electricity, without emergency access and without roofs," Ambdilwahedou Soumaila, mayor of the capital city, told RFI.
"We had no chance."
The sheer strength of Chido caught the people of Mayotte off guard, with the most vulnerable residents hit hardest. The territory's port is strewn with boats piled upon each other, while damage to the airport has severely compromised relief efforts.
Weather shield
Mayotte typically benefits from Madagascar's natural shield against such weather systems, which usually weakens cyclones before they reach the territory.
But Chido's unusual trajectory meant no such protection was available, exposing the string of tiny islands to its full force.
"In our 40 years of risk culture, this wasn't something people believed could happen – at least not with this intensity," Soumaila said.
"Unfortunately, when it arrived, it was already too late."
Mayotte's dense informal settlements – home to many illegal migrants – were obliterated, the lightweight structures offering little resistance to the cyclone's winds.
In Labattoir district of Dzaoudzi, a town on the island of Petite-Terre, homes have been eviscerated, roofs torn away and informal settlements reduced to twisted metal.
Official sources estimate Mayotte's registered population of 320,000 may be supplemented by between 100,000 and 200,000 additional undocumented residents.
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Migrant fears
While 10,000 emergency shelter spaces were made available before the storm, only 3,500 people sought refuge – a figure that points to deep-rooted problems in disaster preparedness and communication with vulnerable communities.
Warning systems proved inadequate, according to the environmental news site Reporterre, which said emergency alerts were sent only in French to a population where many do not understand the language.
Meanwhile illegal residents worried the shelters were a trap and feared being apprehended by authorities. Even children, who are not considered undocumented, were left unprotected, Soumaila told RFI.
"These parents could have sent their children to safety, but they did not," the mayor said.
Emergency response
The cyclone has severely damaged critical infrastructure, including the airport, port and hospital facilities. Many medical centres are no longer operational.
The storm's impact was worsened when the violet alert level halted all movement, just as hundreds of urgent calls for help began flooding in.
“Between the moment when the violet alert was triggered, so no one could go out, neither rescuers nor law enforcement,” Soumaila said.
“Unfortunately, it was too late for us to be able to go rescue people.”
Forgotten territory
Many in Mayotte have long felt neglected by France's central government, and the devastation caused by Cyclone Chido has deepened those frustrations.
Chronic underinvestment in infrastructure and public services has exacerbated the crisis.
“This catastrophe shows the deep vulnerability of our territory,” Fahad Idaroussi Tsimanda, a doctor specialising in natural risks, told Reporterre.
“The state has not provided the necessary resources to prepare for such a disaster ... And as the cyclone approached, no one went to the shanty towns to warn the population."
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Health concerns
Chido’s impact on Mayotte has exposed deep-rooted infrastructure failures that have plagued the archipelago for years.
Only four in 10 homes have access to proper sanitation, leaving thousands vulnerable to disease as authorities scramble to avert a full-scale humanitarian disaster.
"We must move quickly into the hills to prevent sanitary problems caused by decomposing bodies," Soumaila said.
The lack of clean water and food has become an immediate concern."We must now avoid people going hungry after the devastation of this incredible cyclone," he added.
Threatening to perpetuate the cycle of vulnerability, some residents have already begun rebuilding their precarious, makeshift homes.
"We're seeing families, especially those who are undocumented, rebuilding their sheet metal huts," Ali Nizary, president of the Mayotte Departmental Union of Family Associations, told French newspaper l'Humanité.
"The solution is simple: we must prevent the reconstruction of shanty towns by rehousing these families."
