"Scared to death" / Suspected of hundreds of victims in Mayotte after the cyclone hit

2024-12-16 07:37:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

"Scared to death" / Suspected of hundreds of victims in Mayotte after

Hundreds of people are believed to have died in Mayotte after the French Indian Ocean territory was devastated by a powerful cyclone.

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

Rescue workers, including reinforcements from France, are combing the debris for survivors.

Extensive infrastructure damage with downed power lines and impassable roads is severely hampering emergency operations.

Residents of Mayotte have said they are struggling with severe shortages of food, water and shelter.

A resident of the capital, Mamoudzou, waiting in a line for supplies said: "We've had no water for three days, so it's starting to be a lot."

"We are trying to get the bare minimum to live because we don't know when the water will come back."

Another resident of Mamoudzou, John Balloz, said he was surprised he did not die when the cyclone hit.

"It was windy, the wind was blowing and I was panicking, I screamed: 'We need help, we need help.' I was screaming because I could see that my end was coming ," he said.

Another said they had used a nearby school for shelter, adding: "We can still shelter with our neighbors and we are still staying together and caring. We need everyone to hold hands."

Mayotte's poor communities, including undocumented migrants who have traveled to French territory in an attempt to seek asylum, are thought to be particularly hard hit due to the vulnerable nature of their accommodation.

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

Francois-Xavier Bieuville, the island's prefect, told local media that the death toll could rise significantly once the damage is fully assessed. He warned that "it will definitely be a few hundred" and could reach thousands.

French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, who is scheduled to visit the island to assess the damage and coordinate further relief efforts, acknowledged the "extraordinary severity" of the cyclone and assured that efforts to help the population were being stepped up.

Cyclone Chido also made landfall in Mozambique, where it brought flash floods, uprooted trees and damaged buildings about 25 miles (40 km) south of the northern city of Pemba.

The cyclone caused structural damage and power outages in the northern coastal provinces of Nampula and Cabo Delgado on Saturday morning, local authorities said./CNA