Cyclone Chido leaves 'several hundred' dead in France's Mayotte

Several people were killed after a deadly cyclone hit France’s Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte on Saturday. Local officials warned that the overall death toll is likely to cross the hundred mark. Cyclone Chido rocked entire communities in the region after it made landfall, causing wind gusts of more than 225km/h (140mph).

While the last death toll reported from the region was 11, the island’s Prefect Francois-Xavier Bieuville said it will “definitely be several hundred” once the damage is fully assessed, BBC News reported. He said that there is a possibility that a “few thousand people had died,” after the cyclone hit the region.

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron assured that France would be there for the people of Mayotte. He went on to announce that 250 rescue workers will be sent to the island to help with the rescue and recovery operations. France’s Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said “All makeshift homes have been completely destroyed” and he feared a “heavy” death toll.

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Cyclone Chido wreaked havoc in Mayotte

Located in the northwest of Madagascar, Mayotte is an archipelago comprised of one main island, Grand-Terre, and several smaller ones. Most of the island’s 300,000 or so inhabitants live in shacks with sheet metal roofs, which might be one of the major reasons for the high death toll on the island. According to AFP, thousands of people lost their homes soon after the island was hit by the cyclone.

While electricity, water and internet connections are all down, the French government has sent a military transport plane with supplies and emergency workers. French Transport Minister Francois Durovray mentioned that the French territory’s Pamandzi airport “suffered major damage, especially to the control tower.” “Air traffic will be restored initially with military aid planes. Ships are on the way to ensure resupply,” he added.

The head of Mayotte’s firefighters’ union, Abdul Karim Ahmed Allaoui, told the BFM about the difficulties in rescue operations in the region. “There’s no mobile phone service and we can’t reach people on the island. Even buildings built to earthquake standards haven’t held up,” he averred. “The emergency services command centre has been evacuated and is functioning at partial capacity,” Mayotte added.

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France’s new Prime Minister François Bayrou, who took up the post on Friday, said the cyclone was of “exceptional severity” and he was being updated on the situation “hour by hour”. He also held an emergency meeting in Paris on Sunday over how to deal with the situation.

Mayotte was initially placed under a purple alert - the highest level - and a “strict lockdown for the whole population, including emergency services” was imposed. The alert was later lowered to red, allowing emergency services to leave their bases. French Interior Minister Retailleau mentioned that the island had not witnessed such a severe natural calamity since 1934.

With inputs from agencies.