Muti: Several hundred deaths feared after Cyclone Chido

The search for survivors continued in Mayotte, a French island in the Indian Ocean, after it was hit by a powerful storm on Sunday.

Rescue workers are still trying to reach some communities and there are fears that the death toll could reach into the thousands once the damage is fully assessed.

Entire settlements were flattened when Cyclone Chido brought winds of more than 225 km/h (140 mph), with the poorest living in makeshift shelters particularly hard hit.

Some of Mayotte’s population of 320,000 have said they are struggling with severe shortages of food, water and shelter.

Mamudozo, a resident of the capital city queuing for supplies, said: “We have not had water for three days, so it is starting to become too much.

“We’re trying to live as little as possible, because we don’t know when the water will come back.”

Mohammed Ismail, another resident of Mamodzo, told the Reuters news agency that the situation there was “a tragedy” and said: “You feel like you are in the aftermath of a nuclear war… I saw a whole neighborhood disappear. “

Another said they had used a nearby school for shelter, adding: “We can still shelter with our neighbors, and we’re still sticking together and being careful. We need to hold everyone’s hand.”

Impoverished communities in Meute, including undocumented migrants who have traveled to French soil in an attempt to claim asylum, are believed to be particularly hard hit by the vulnerability of their housing.

Its population is heavily dependent on French aid and has long struggled with poverty, unemployment and political instability.

About 75 percent of the population lives below the national poverty line and unemployment hovers at one in three.

French President Emmanuel Macron said his thoughts were “with our compatriots in Meute, who have gone through the most terrible few hours and who, for some, have lost everything, lost their lives”.

While some French aid and assistance workers have reached Mayotte, efforts to reach some communities are ongoing.

The island’s president, Francois-Xavier Beauval, told local media that the death toll could rise significantly once the damage is fully assessed. He warned that it would be “certainly several hundred” and could reach thousands.

French Interior Minister Bruno Retileau, who is due to visit the island, acknowledged the storm’s “extraordinary intensity” and assured that efforts were being stepped up to help the population.

Cyclone Chido also brought strong winds and heavy rain to Mozambique, making landfall about 25 miles (40.2 km) south of the northern city of Pemba early Sunday, according to the weather service.

The storm caused structural damage and power outages in the northern coastal provinces of Nampula and Cabo Delgado on Saturday morning, officials said.

“We had a lot of damage in the early hours of this morning,” said Guy Taylor, a spokesman for the aid agency UNICEF in Mozambique.

“Many houses were destroyed or severely damaged, and health care facilities and schools are out of order,” he added.

Mr Taylor said UNICEF was concerned about the “loss of access to vital services”, including medical treatment, clean water and sanitation, and the “spread of diseases such as cholera and malaria”.