France is racing to send rescue workers and supplies to Mayotte after the most powerful cyclone in nearly a century hit the tiny Indian Ocean territory – with fears that thousands of people could be dead.
Cyclone Chido struck the islands of Mayotte with close to 140mph (225kmph) winds, and the death toll may reach a “thousand, even several thousands”, prefect Francois-Xavier Bieuville said. The French interior ministry warned that it would be “difficult to account for all the victims”, and that it was not yet possible to determine the death toll.
“Chaos” is how resident Fahar Abdoulhamidi described the aftermath. In Mamoudzou, Mayotte’s capital, the destruction was total: schools, hospitals, restaurants, and government offices were in ruins.
The French Red Cross described the devastation as “unimaginable” and said it was impossible to give an exact number of victims, with rescuers still searching for bodies in the rubble. The official death toll was 20, according to television station Mayotte la 1ere.
French interior minister Bruno Retailleau arrived in Mamoudzou on Monday morning. He told French media it would take “days and days” to establish the true scale of the impact following the cyclone.
The French military has begun rushing medical personnel and emergency workers to Mayotte, airlifting people and supplies from Reunion island – another French overseas territory on the other side of Madagascar.
French authorities said more than 800 more personnel were expected to arrive in the coming days, as rescuers combed through the devastation caused by Chido when it hit the densely populated archipelago of around 300,000 people on Saturday.
Mr Bieuville said the island’s poorer slum neighbourhoods, consisting of metal shacks and other informal structures, had been hit particularly badly by the cyclone. He added that it would be extremely hard to count the deaths, and that many might never be recorded, partly because of the Muslim tradition of burying people within 24 hours.
Those who survived are also starting to go hungry, according to Mayotte senator Salama Ramia. She told BFM-TV that many people heading to shelters had found dire conditions there.
“There’s no water, no electricity. Hunger is starting to rise. It’s urgent that aid arrives, especially when you see children, babies, to whom we have nothing concrete to offer,” she said.
The main airport has suffered significant damage, including to its air traffic control tower. This means that only military aircraft can fly into the island, further complicating disaster response efforts.
French president Emmanuel Macron said: “My thoughts are with our compatriots in Mayotte, who have gone through the most horrific few hours, and who have, for some, lost everything – lost their lives.”
Sebastien Lecornu, the French minister of the armed forces, said on X, formerly Twitter: “For the accommodation of emergency services, three structures capable of accommodating 150 people are on site, with an additional one currently on its way,” adding that military rations and generators were also being provided.
Nicolas Daragon, France’s minister for everyday security, confirmed on X early on Monday that the first planes providing emergency aid had arrived. “The State is fully mobilised to support the inhabitants of Mayotte in this ordeal,” he wrote.
Mayotte has become a focal point for illegal immigration from the nearby Comoros Islands, with more than 100,000 undocumented migrants in the French archipelago, the French interior ministry has said.
Ascertaining a precise death toll is difficult, a French official said, because Mayotte is a “Muslim land where the dead are buried within 24 hours”. There are also concerns about access to food, water and sanitation in the immediate aftermath of the disaster.
Nearly 8,000km (5,000 miles) from Paris and four days away by sea, Mayotte is significantly poorer than the rest of France, and has been gripped by gang violence and social unrest for decades.
More than three-quarters of the roughly 320,000 residents live below the poverty line. Last year, the French army moved to quell protests on the islands after a drought and mismanagement led to water shortages.
The French interior ministry said that 1,600 police and gendarmerie officers were deployed soon after the cyclone struck to “help the population and prevent potential looting”.
December through to March is cyclone season in the southwestern Indian Ocean, and southern Africa has been hammered by a series of strong ones in recent years. Cyclone Idai in 2019 killed more than 1,300 people, mostly in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe. Cyclone Freddy left more than 1,000 dead across several countries in the Indian Ocean and southern Africa last year.
On Sunday, Chido slammed into northern Mozambique, making landfall around 40km south of the northern city of Pemba, the weather agency said. The intense tropical cyclone threatened 1.7 million people living in the areas of Cabo Delgado, Nampula and Niassa, according to the International Organisation for Migration.
Unicef’s Mozambique spokesperson Guy Taylor said many homes, schools and health facilities were partially or completely damaged, and that the organisation was working with the government to provide aid. He said communities in the country were at risk of being cut off from schools and health facilities for weeks.
Authorities in Mozambique warned that there was a high danger of landslides.
Internet monitor NetBlocks said power and telecommunications infrastructure had been damaged by heavy rain and winds.
In Comoros, two people were injured, 24 displaced and 24 homes destroyed, according to authorities.
Mayotte was colonised by the French in 1843, and the entire archipelago, including Comoros, was annexed in 1904. A referendum in 1974 saw 63 per cent of Mayotte’s population vote to stay French, while 95 per cent of the archipelago supported separation. Grand Comore, Anjouan and Moheli declared independence in 1975.
Associated Press contributed to this report
