Hundreds feared dead in France's Mayotte region from Cyclone Chido, top official says

The death toll in the French region of Mayotte from Cyclone Chido is “several hundreds” and could run into the thousands, the island's top government official told a local broadcaster on Sunday.

France rushed rescue teams and supplies to its largely impoverished overseas sector in the Indian Ocean which suffered widespread devastation.

“I think there are several hundred dead, we might get close to a thousand. Even thousands … because of the violence of this event,” Mayotte Prefect François-Xavier Bieuville told Mayotte TV station la 1ere.

It was previously said to be the worst cyclone to hit Mayotte in 90 years.

Bieuville said it was extremely difficult to get an accurate number of deaths and injuries after Mayotte was pummeled by the intense tropical cyclone on Saturday, causing extensive damage to public infrastructure, including the airport, flattening neighborhoods and knocking out electricity supplies.

France's Interior Ministry confirmed at least 11 deaths and more than 250 injuries earlier Sunday, but said that was expected to rise significantly.

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

Bieuville said the worst destruction was 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 believable when you see the images of the slums.”

“I think the human toll is much higher,” he said.

Chido blew through the southwest Indian Ocean on Friday and Saturday, also affecting the nearby islands of Comoros and Madagascar. Mayotte was directly in the path of the cyclone, however, and prevailed. Chido brought winds of more than 220 kph (136 mph), according to the French weather service, making it a category 4 cyclone, the second strongest on the scale.

Later, Chido made landfall in Mozambique on the African mainland and there were fears that more than 2 million people in the north of the country could be affected, according to authorities there.

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

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

Rescuers and firefighters were dispatched from France and the neighboring French Reunion region and supplies were also brought in by military aircraft and ships. Damage to the airport's control tower meant that only military aircraft could fly in.

Patrice Latron, chief executive of Reunion, said authorities are aiming to establish an air and sea bridge from Reunion to Mayotte. About 800 more rescuers were to be sent in the coming days and more than 80 tons of supplies had arrived or were on their way by boat. 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 had been deployed to “assist the crowd and prevent eruptions.”

In some parts of Mayotte, entire neighborhoods of metal shacks and huts were flattened, while residents said trees were uprooted, boats moved or sunk and many areas were without power. .

Chad Youyou, who lives in Hamjago in the north of the island, posted videos on Facebook showing the extensive damage in his village and over the surrounding fields and hills, where almost all the trees were melted.

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

Chido continued on an easterly track into northern Mozambique where it continued to wreak havoc, while Malawi and Zimbabwe inland warned that they may have to evacuate due to floods

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

UNICEF Mozambique spokesman Guy Taylor said communities were expected to be cut off from schools and health facilities for weeks and Mozambique authorities warned of a high risk of landslides.

December to March is cyclone season in the southwest Indian Ocean and southern Africa has been pummeled 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 in several countries in the Indian Ocean and southern Africa last year.

The cyclones pose the risk of floods and landslides, but also stagnant pools of water could trigger deadly outbreaks of water-borne cholera as well as dengue fever and malaria.

Studies say that the cyclones are getting worse because of climate change. They can leave poor countries in Africa, which contribute to a small extent to global warming, to deal with a major humanitarian crisis, reinforcing their call for more help from rich countries to deal with the effects of climate change.