Hundreds, possibly thousands, of people may have died as the strongest cyclone in nearly a century battered the French Indian Ocean archipelago of Mayotte, a senior local French official said on Sunday. “I think there will definitely be many hundreds, maybe we will reach thousands, thousands,” Prefect Francois-Xavier Beauville told local media channel Mayotte La 1Ray.
Asked about the death toll from Cyclone Chido, the French Interior Ministry said it would be “difficult to account for all the victims” and that figures could not be determined at this stage.
Cyclone Chido has hit Mayotte overnightMeteo-France said winds of more than 200 kilometers per hour (124 mph) damaged homes, government buildings and hospitals. It was the strongest storm to hit the islands in more than 90 years, forecasters said.
“My thoughts are with our countrymen in Mayotte, who have lost the most terrible few hours, and who, for some, have lost everything, lost their lives,” French President Emmanuel Macron said.
In the photo Cyclone Chido ravages Mayotte, death toll rises
Aerial footage shared by the French gendarmerie showed the ruins of hundreds of makeshift homes scattered over the mountains of the island of Mayotte, which has become a focal point for illegal immigration from nearby Comoros.
Local media footage showed a mother pushing a newborn baby in a crib through a flooded corridor at a Mayotte hospital. Coconut trees fell from the roofs of several buildings and police boats were beached.
Over the past few decades thousands of people have attempted the crossing from Comoros on the east African coast to Mayotte, where there is a high standard of living and access to the French welfare system.
According to the French Interior Ministry, Mayotte is home to more than 100,000 undocumented migrants.
It was difficult to ascertain the exact number of deaths after the cyclone, which raised concerns about access to food, water and sanitation, officials said.
“As for the toll, it’s going to be complicated, because Mayotte is a Muslim land where the dead are buried within 24 hours,” a French interior ministry official said earlier. Located about 8,000 kilometers (5,000 miles) from Paris and a four-day journey by sea, Mayotte is significantly poorer than the rest of France and has faced decades of gang violence and social unrest.
More than three quarters of the people of Mayotte live below the French poverty line. Earlier this year, water shortages caused tension. An airlift was put in place from Reunion Island, another French overseas territory on the other side of Madagascar, the government said.
The outbreak is the first challenge faced by Prime Minister Francois Berrou since days after Macron named him after the fall of the previous government. The cyclone made landfall in northern Mozambique on Sunday, but the full extent of the impact remains unclear. Internet monitor NetBlocks X (formerly Twitter) said heavy rain and winds had damaged power and telecommunications infrastructure.
In Comoros, two people were slightly injured, 24 were displaced, and 21 homes were destroyed, officials said.
France colonized Mayotte in 1843 and annexed the entire archipelago, including Comoros, in 1904.
In a 1974 referendum, 95% supported secession but in Mayotte 63% voted to remain French. Grande Comore, Anjouan and Moheli declared independence in 1975. Mayotte is still governed by Paris.
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