Cyclone Chido: Before and after pictures show devastating storm's damage to Mayotte

Before and after pictures have shown the extent of the damage to the island of Mayotte following Cyclone Chido.

Large parts of the archipelago, which lies in the Indian Ocean between Madagascar and the coast of Mozambique in east Africa, were destroyed by last weekend’s devastating storm.

Many parts of France’s poorest overseas territory are still unreachable after the island was battered by winds of up to 124mph (200kmh).

Hundreds, possibly thousands, of people are feared dead after what French weather service Meteo France called its worst cyclone in more than 90 years.

Rescue workers have been searching for survivors amid the debris of the shantytowns where many of the island’s population lives.

Satellite images of the capital, Mamoudzou, released by Maxar Technologies on Tuesday showed destroyed or damaged rooftops, houses whose roofs were ripped off, damaged trees, and debris scattered across open areas.

At least 22 people have died, while more than 1,400 have been injured, Ambdilwahedou Soumaila, the mayor of the city, told Radio France Internationale on Tuesday morning.

But the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), put the number of dead at 34 and said 319 had been injured, quoting Mozambique’s institute for natural disasters.

The office estimated the number of people impacted to be a little over 174,000, quoting Mozambique’s disaster agency.

Some victims were buried before their deaths could be officially registered, delaying confirmed figures.

Others were “starting to decompose”, Mr Soumaila said, as he demanded “water and food”.

Power is still out, he added, and, at night “there are people who take advantage of that situation”.

Scrambled from Reunion in huge boxes, aid can’t get to Mayotte soon enough

A big lorry pulls up in the PIROI car park in Reunion Island’s capital, St Denis. Two hydraulic arms swing out and begin to lift a giant, blue shipping container on board.

Inside the huge metal box are emergency shelter kits – hundreds of them. From Reunion, they will begin a four-day journey by ship across the Indian Ocean to cyclone-devastated Mayotte.

And they can’t get there soon enough. Cyclones are not uncommon in this part of the world – but this is the most powerful one to hit Mayotte in over 90 years. It flattened everything in its path.

In a warehouse not far from Reunion’s international airport, the entire relief effort for Mayotte is being coordinated. It’s packed with row after row of shelves reaching the tall ceiling, each with emergency supplies, including tents, generators, water containers and even emergency field hospitals.

Eric Sam-Vah is the PIROI deputy head here and he explains that the shipping containers will carry across all non-food items.

“We’ve tarpaulins for a six-meter square and with the tools and the plastic sheeting at least they can have a shelter, an emergency shelter for the next two days”, he tells me.

While he’s talking, another truck arrives to collect the second container. You begin to sense the urgency.

The Red Cross said on Tuesday it feared more than 200 of its volunteers were missing on the archipelago.

Aid is coming, with 20 tonnes of food and water due to start arriving on Tuesday by air and sea.

Late on Monday, the French government said it expects half of the territory’s water supplies to be restored within 48 hours and 95% within the week.

A curfew will be in place from 10pm to 4am, starting on Tuesday night, France’s interior ministry said.

In 2019, Cyclone Idai killed more than 1,300 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, and stagnant water may later cause 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.