Close to 1,000 people feared dead after cyclone in French territory of Mayotte

Close to 1,000 people may have been killed after Cyclone Chido hit the French territory of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean, the island’s top official has said.

Mayotte Prefect Francois-Xavier Bieuville told local TV station la 1ere: “I think there are some several hundred dead, maybe we’ll get close to a thousand, even thousands… given the violence of this event.”

He said it was currently “extremely difficult” to get an exact number.

Officials had confirmed at least 11 deaths in Mayotte earlier on Sunday but said that was expected to increase.

Cyclone Chido caused extensive damage on Saturday, with nearby islands of Comoros and Madagascar also affected as it blew through the southeastern Indian Ocean.

Forecaster Meteo-France said it was the strongest storm in more than 90 years to hit the islands.

Winds of more than 136mph ripped roofs off houses and destroyed buildings in Mayotte.

Entire neighbourhoods were flattened, while residents reported many trees had been uprooted and boats had been flipped or sunk.

The main airport and hospital also suffered major damage, the new French prime minister Francois Bayrou said.

He added many people living in precarious shacks in slum areas have faced very serious risks.

One hospital in Mayotte reported that nine people were in critical condition and another 246 others were injured.

But France‘s interior ministry said it was proving difficult to get a precise tally of the dead and injured – though interior minister Bruno Retailleau feared the number killed “will be high”.

The ministry said 1,600 police and gendarmerie officers have been deployed, alongside rescuers and firefighters from Mayotte and the nearby territory of Reunion. Supplies were also being rushed in on military aircraft and ships.

Mayotte has a population of just over 300,000 spread over two main islands about 500 miles off Africa’s east coast.

It is France’s poorest region and has struggled with drought, underinvestment, and gang violence for decades.

Cyclone Chido has now made landfall in Mozambique on the African mainland, where the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said Cabo Delgado province, home to around two million people, had been hit hard.

“Many homes, schools and health facilities have been partially or completely destroyed and we are working closely with government to ensure continuity of essential basic services,” the organisation said.

“While we are doing everything we can, additional support is urgently needed.”

UNICEF Mozambique spokesman Guy Taylor said in a video that communities now face the prospect of being cut off from schools and health facilities for weeks.

Malawi and Zimbabwe have also made emergency plans, with both countries warning they may have to evacuate people from low-lying areas due to flooding.

December through March is cyclone season in the southeastern Indian Ocean, and southern Africa has been pummelled by a series of strong ones in recent years.

Cyclone Idai in 2019 killed more than 1,300 people in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe while Cyclone Freddy left more than 1,000 dead across several countries last year.

The cyclones bring the risk of flooding and landslides, but also stagnant pools of water may later spark deadly outbreaks of the waterborne disease cholera as well as dengue fever and malaria.

Studies say the cyclones are getting worse because of climate change. They can leave poor countries in southern Africa, which contribute a tiny amount to global warming, having to deal with large humanitarian crises – underlining their call for more help from rich nations to deal with the impact of climate change.