CAPE TOWN, South Africa – The death toll in the French territory of Mayotte due to Cyclone Chido is “a few hundred” and could reach thousands, a government official on the island told a local broadcaster on Sunday.
France has rushed rescue teams and supplies to its poorest overseas department in the devastated Indian Ocean.
“I think there are a few hundred dead, maybe we will be close to a thousand. Even thousands … given the violence of this event,” Mayotte mayor François-Xavier Bieuville told Mayotte la 1ere television station.
He had previously said that it was the worst typhoon to hit Mayotte in 90 years.
Bieuville said it was very difficult to get the exact number of dead and injured after Mayotte was hit by a powerful storm on Saturday, which caused extensive damage to public infrastructure, including the airport, destroyed neighborhoods and cut off electricity.
France’s interior ministry confirmed that at least 11 people had died and 250 were injured early Sunday but said that number was expected to rise significantly.
Mayotte in the southwest of the Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa is the poorest French island and the poorest in the European Union. It has a population of just over 300,000 spread over two large islands.
Bieuville said extensive damage has been seen in the metal shacks and shanty buildings that mark much of Mayotte. Speaking about the number of people who have died so far, he said “this number is unbelievable when you see the pictures of the slums.”
“I think the population is too high,” he added.
Mayotte took Chido hard
Chido blew across the southwest Indian Ocean on Friday and Saturday, also affecting the nearby islands of Comoros and Madagascar. Mayotte was in the path of the typhoon, however, and struggled. Chido brought winds of more than 220 kph (136 mph), according to the French weather service, making it a category 4 typhoon, the second strongest on the scale.
Later, Chido reached Mozambique on the African continent and there were fears that more than two million people in the north of the country could be affected, according to local authorities.
French President Emmanuel Macron said his “thoughts” are with the people of Mayotte and Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau will travel to Mayotte on Monday. Retaileau warned on Saturday night after an emergency meeting in Paris that the death toll “will be high,” and new Prime Minister François Bayrou, who took office on Friday, said infrastructure was heavily damaged or destroyed across Mayotte.
Pope Francis prayed for the victims during his visit to the French Mediterranean island of Corsica on Sunday.
France wants to open an air and sea bridge to Mayotte
Rescuers and firefighters were dispatched from France and the nearby French region of Reunion and supplies were also rushed in by military aircraft and ships. Damage to the airport’s control tower meant that only military aircraft were able to fly in.
Patrice Latron, the manager of Reunion, said the authorities intend to establish an air and sea bridge from Reunion to Mayotte. About 800 rescuers were to be sent in the coming days and more than 80 tons of supplies had already been airlifted or were on their way by ship. Some of the priorities are to restore electricity and access to drinking water, said Latron.
France’s interior ministry said 1,600 police officers and officers had been deployed “to help people and prevent possible looting.”
In other parts of Mayotte, entire neighborhoods of metal shacks and shacks were destroyed, while residents reported trees uprooted, boats overturned or sunk and many areas without electricity.
Chad Youyou, a resident of Hamjago in the north of the island, posted videos on Facebook showing the extensive damage to his neighborhood and fields near the hills, where almost all the trees had been cut down.
“Mayotte is destroyed … we are destroyed,” he said.
This typhoon hit northern Mozambique
Chido continued its eastern route until it entered northern Mozambique where it continued to cause great damage, while the remote inland areas of Malawi and Zimbabwe warned that they may have to evacuate people due to flooding.
In Mozambique, UNICEF said the province of Cabo Delgado, home to about two million people, was the first region to be hit and many homes, schools and health facilities were partially or completely destroyed.
The spokesman for UNICEF in Mozambique, Guy Taylor, said that communities are facing the possibility of not learning in schools and health centers for many weeks and the authorities in Mozambique have warned that there is a high risk of landslides.
December to March is typhoon season in the southwest Indian Ocean and southern Africa has been hit by a series of hurricanes in recent years. Cyclone Idai in 2019 killed more than 1,300 people, mostly in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe. Cyclone Freddy left more than 1,000 people dead in many countries in the Indian Ocean and southern Africa last year.
These typhoons bring the risk of floods and landslides, but also stagnant pools of water can cause deadly outbreaks of waterborne cholera and dengue fever and malaria.
Research says these typhoons are getting worse because of climate change. They can leave the poor countries in Africa, which contribute little to global warming, which must face major humanitarian problems, underscoring their request for more aid from rich countries to deal with the impact of climate change.
– Corbet reported from Paris.
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