A local official has warned that the death toll from the storm that hit the French Indian Ocean region of Mayotte on Saturday could be in the hundreds.
Entire communities were flattened when Cyclone Chido made landfall, packing winds of over 225 km/h (140 mph).
The death toll was last reported at 11 but speaking to local media, the island’s prefect Francois-Xavier Bivel said it would be “certainly several hundreds” once the damage was fully assessed, he added. that it is possible that “a few thousand people died”. .
French President Emmanuel Macron had earlier said France would “be there” for the people of Meute and was sending 250 aid workers.
AFPFrench Interior Minister Bruno Retileau said “all the temporary homes have been completely destroyed” and feared “massive” casualties.
On Saturday, one A local news source reported. According to the hospital report, 11 people were killed and 246 injured. AFP, citing a security source, had reported more casualties – at least 14.
Located northwest of Madagascar, Mayotte is an archipelago consisting of a main island, Grande-Terre, and several smaller islands.
The island’s 300,000 or so residents live in shacks with sheet metal roofs, and tens of thousands have lost their homes.
Electricity, water and internet connections are all off. In Paris, the government sent a military transport plane with supplies and emergency workers.
France’s Acting Transport Minister François Durore wrote on X that the region’s Pamendzi airport “suffered heavy damage, especially to the control tower”.
He added that air traffic would be restored “initially with military support aircraft. Ships are en route to ensure resupply.”
Even before the storm hit with full force Saturday morning, there were reports of uprooted trees, roofs off buildings and downed power lines.
“Even the emergency responders have been shut down,” Abdulkarim Ahmed Alaoui, head of Mayotte’s firefighters union, told BFM news channel on Saturday morning.
He continued: “There is no mobile phone service and we cannot reach people on the island. Even buildings built to earthquake standards did not hold up.
“The emergency services command center has been evacuated and is operating at partial capacity.”
AFPInterior Minister Retailleau wrote in a statement on X: “I offer my full support to the people of Maute. State and local emergency services are fully mobilized. 110 civil security personnel and firefighters have already been dispatched and they A second departure will be made with a total of 140 additional personnel on the scene.
French Prime Minister François Bayrou, who took office on Friday, said the storm was of “exceptional intensity” and that he was being updated on the situation “hour by hour”. He has held an emergency meeting with ministers in Paris.
Mayotte was initially placed under a purple alert – the highest level – and a “strict lockdown for the entire population, including emergency services” was imposed. It has since been red-lighted to allow emergency services to leave their bases.
Retilio said the island had not experienced such extreme weather since 1934.
After hitting Mayotte, the storm intensified overnight as it crossed the Mozambique Channel.
The coastal city of Pemba was hit by heavy rains and winds of up to 185 km/h (115 mph).
Videos on social media showed parts of Pemba city flooded, trees uprooted and some houses damaged.
The cyclone is now moving inland, with heavy rains reported in the neighboring province of Nampula.
While winds are expected to ease, heavy rain and flooding are also forecast for southern Malawi and later Zimbabwe.
Additional reporting by Richard Kago