Mayotte reels from cyclone devastation, France’s Macron to arrive on Dec 19

MAMOUDZOU, Mayotte - Rescuers searched desperately for survivors as they sought to assess the full scale of

devastation wrought by Cyclone Chido

on the French overseas territory of Mayotte, which emerged on Dec 18 from a first night spent under curfew.

French President Emmanuel Macron

will be in Mayotte on Dec 19, his office announced late on Dec 17, as the authorities anticipate a death toll reaching hundreds – possibly even thousands – from the most destructive cyclone to hit the Indian Ocean archipelago in 90 years.

The true scale of the disaster is still being assessed as rescuers raced to find survivors in the ruins of slums such as those in the capital Mamoudzou, while also unblocking roads and clearing rubble and downed trees.

A curfew from 10pm to 4am local time was imposed as a security measure to prevent looting.

A preliminary toll from France’s Interior Ministry shows that 22 people were confirmed killed and 1,373 injured. New French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou told Parliament on Dec 17 there were “200 badly wounded and 1,500 wounded in a relative state of urgency”.

“This toll could rise. We all know this,” he said.

“I have never seen a disaster of this magnitude on national soil,” Mr Bayrou said later in a post on social media platform X.

“I think of the children whose houses have been swept away, whose schools have been almost all destroyed and whose parents are extremely distraught.”

Mayotte, located off south-eastern Africa near Madagascar, is France’s poorest region. An estimated one-third of its population live in shanty towns whose flimsy sheet metal-roofed homes offered scant protection against the storm.

Cyclone Chido, which hit Mayotte on Dec 14 before barrelling on to Mozambique, was the latest in a string of storms worldwide fuelled by climate change.

Experts say seasonal storms are being super-charged by warmer Indian Ocean waters, fuelling more powerful windspeeds.

‘Crushed everything’

At Pamandzi, a small commune located off the main island, sheet metal debris and destroyed wooden structures were strewn as far as the eye could see.

“It was like a steamroller that crushed everything,” said Ms Nasrine, a Mayotte teacher who declined to give her full name, as she showed visitors around the informal neighbourhood of La Vigie, which was razed.

Health services across Mayotte are in tatters, while power and mobile phone services have been knocked out. The airport is closed to civilian flights and there is mounting concern over how to ensure supplies of drinking water.

“Everyone is rushing to the stores for water. There is a general shortage,” said Mr Ali Ahmidi Youssouf, 39, walking on the road with a few bottles in his hand.

Mr Bayrou said in Paris that progress was being made with about 50 per cent of the electricity network restarted, with a target of 75 per cent “by the end of the week”.

Mr Macron, who chaired a crisis meeting on the night of Dec 16, was initially due to take part in a Brussels summit with European Union leaders, but cut short his trip to go to Mayotte.

French military support

Mayotte is one of several French overseas territories. Much of its population is Muslim and religious tradition dictates that bodies must be buried rapidly, meaning some may never be counted.

Assessing the toll is further complicated by irregular immigration to Mayotte, especially from the Comoros islands to the north, meaning much of the population is not even registered.

Mayotte officially has 320,000 inhabitants, but the authorities estimate about 100,000 to 200,000 more people after taking into account illegal immigration.

After hitting Mayotte, Cyclone Chido made landfall in Mozambique, claiming at least 34 lives and destroying 23,600 homes, the authorities said.

French military planes have been shuttling between Mayotte and the island of La Reunion, also a French overseas territory, to the east that was spared the cyclone and is serving as the hub for rescue efforts.

The French navy support and assistance vessel Champlain, which set sail from La Reunion, is also due to arrive in Mayotte on the morning of Dec 19 with 180 tonnes of freight on board.

The disaster poses a major challenge for a government operating in a caretaker capacity, days after Mr Macron named the sixth prime minister of his presidency. AFP