Hundreds feared dead in French territory of Mayotte due to Cyclone Chido, senior official says

The death toll in the French territory of Mayotte from Cyclone Chido is “several hundred” and could rise to thousands, the island’s top government official told a local broadcaster on Sunday.

France quickly sent rescue teams and supplies to its largely poor overseas department in the Indian Ocean, which has suffered widespread destruction.

“I think there are several hundred dead, maybe we are approaching a thousand. Even thousands… given the violence of this event,” Mayotte prefect François-Xavier Bieuville told Mayotte la 1ere television station.

He had previously said it was the worst cyclone to hit Mayotte in 90 years.

Bieuville said it was extremely difficult to obtain an exact number of deaths and injuries after Mayotte was hit by the intense tropical cyclone on Saturday, causing extensive damage to public infrastructure, including the airport, leveling neighborhoods and cutting power supplies.

The French Interior Ministry confirmed at least 11 deaths and more than 250 injuries early Sunday, but said the toll was expected to rise substantially.

Mayotte, in the southwestern Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa, is the poorest island in France and the poorest territory in the European Union. It has a population of just over 300,000 inhabitants spread over two main islands.

Bieuville said the worst devastation had been seen in the slums of metal shacks and informal structures that characterize much of Mayotte. Referring to the official death toll so far, he said “this figure is not plausible when you see the images of the slums.”

“I think the human cost is much greater,” he added.

Chido crossed the southwestern Indian Ocean on Friday and Saturday, also affecting the nearby islands of Comoros and Madagascar. However, Mayotte was directly in the path of the cyclone and bore the brunt of it. Chido produced winds exceeding 220 kilometers per hour (136 mph), according to the French meteorological service, making it a Category 4 cyclone, the second strongest on the scale.

Chido later made landfall in Mozambique, on the African continent, and it was feared that more than 2 million people in the north of the country could be affected, according to the country’s authorities.

French President Emmanuel Macron said his “thoughts” were with the people of Mayotte and that Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau would travel to Mayotte on Monday. Retailleau had warned on Saturday night, after an emergency meeting in Paris, that the death toll “will be high”, while the new Prime Minister, François Bayrou, who took office on Friday, stated that the infrastructure had been seriously damaged or destroyed throughout Mayotte.

Pope Francis offered prayers for the victims during a visit Sunday to the French Mediterranean island of Corsica.

Rescuers and firefighters were sent from France and the nearby French territory of Réunion and supplies were also sent on military planes and ships. Damage to the airport’s control tower meant that only military aircraft were able to fly there.

Patrice Latron, prefect of Réunion, said authorities intend to establish an air and sea bridge between Réunion and Mayotte. About 800 more rescuers will be dispatched in the coming days and more than 80 tons of supplies have arrived by air or are on their way by ship. Some of the priorities were restoring electricity and access to drinking water, Latron said.

The French Interior Ministry said 1,600 police and gendarmerie officers have been deployed to “help the population and prevent possible looting.”

In some parts of Mayotte, entire neighborhoods of metal shacks and shacks were leveled, while residents reported that trees had been uprooted, boats had capsized or sunk, and many areas had been left without power.

Chad Youyou, a resident of Hamjago, in the north of the island, posted videos on Facebook showing the extensive damage in his village and in the surrounding fields and hills, where almost all the trees had been leveled.

“Mayotte is destroyed… we are destroyed,” he said.

Chido continued its path east and into northern Mozambique, where it continued to cause heavy damage, while further inland, landlocked Malawi and Zimbabwe warned they may have to evacuate people due to the floods.

In Mozambique, UNICEF said Cabo Delgado province, home to around 2 million people, was the first region affected and many homes, schools and health facilities were partially or completely destroyed.

UNICEF Mozambique spokesman Guy Taylor said communities were facing the prospect of being cut off from schools and health centers for weeks and Mozambique authorities warned there was a high danger of landslides.

December to March is cyclone season in the southwestern Indian Ocean and southern Africa has been hit by a series of strong cyclones in recent years. In 2019, Cyclone Idai killed more than 1,300 people, mainly in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe. Last year, Cyclone Freddy left more than 1,000 dead in several countries in the Indian Ocean and southern Africa.

Cyclones carry the risk of flooding and landslides, but puddles of stagnant water can also later lead to deadly outbreaks of the waterborne disease cholera, as well as dengue and malaria.

Studies say cyclones are getting worse due to climate change. They may leave poor African countries, which contribute only a small amount to global warming, to deal with major humanitarian crises, underscoring their call for rich nations to provide more aid to confront the impact of climate change.