Cyclone kills 14 people in France’s Mayotte: Security source
Storm leaves a ‘dramatic’ trail of destruction on the impoverished islands
PARIS: Cyclone Chido killed at least 14 people on the French Indian Ocean island territory of Mayotte, a security source told AFP Sunday in an updated provisional toll.
The storm headed for the coast of Mozambique after sweeping through Mayotte’s shantytowns, with French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau warning the final toll was feared to be heavy.
Retailleau said the storm had left a “dramatic” trail of destruction on the impoverished islands, warning that the territory’s numerous shantytowns had been “completely destroyed”.
“It will take several days” to establish the death toll, but “we fear that it is heavy”, he said as he left a government crisis meeting chaired by France’s newly appointed Prime Minister Francois Bayrou.
Retailleau will travel to Mayotte on Monday, his office said.
It is part of the Comoros archipelago and lies between Madagascar and Mozambique.
Mayotte is about 8,000 kilometers (5,000 miles) southeast of Paris.
Economy
The local economy relies heavily on agriculture, fishing, and public sector services.
The unemployment rate is high, and there are significant issues with poverty and inequality.
Tourism is growing, particularly for its natural beauty, including coral reefs, beaches, and marine life.
Population
The population of Mayotte is roughly 320,000 people.
The population is young, with a significant proportion under the age of 25.
The island has a mix of ethnic groups, including people of Comorian, African, Malagasy, and French descent.
The cyclone had put the region on high alert as it closed in on the African mainland, packing gusts of at least 226 kilometres (140 miles) per hour.
The storm also hit the nearby Comoros islands, causing flooding and damaging homes.
The two confirmed deaths came on Petite-Terre, the smaller of Mayotte’s two major islands, a security source told AFP.
Acting Transport Minister Francois Durovray said on X that Petite-Terre’s Pamandzi airport had “suffered major damage”.
Health Minister Genevieve Darrieussecq said the entire territory’s health system had been “severely affected”, with “major material damage to the Mayotte hospital centre”.
Earlier Saturday, Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said an A400M transport plane would be leaving France carrying aid and “civil security” equipment.
Retailleau’s office said he had spoken by phone to the prefect for the territory, ordering “full mobilisation” of police and security services to help residents and “prevent any possible looting”.
Chido slams into Mozambique
Chido slammed into Mozambique early Sunday, bringing gale-force winds and heavy rain.
The cyclone appeared to have intensified as it crossed the Mozambique Channel overnight to make landfall around 40 kilometres (25 miles) south of the northern city of Pemba, weather services said.
“The cyclone is already affecting Pemba with a very strong intensity. We were monitoring the situation but there is no communication with Pemba since 7 am (0500 GMT),” National Institute of Meteorology director Aderito Aramuge told AFP.
UNICEF said it was on the ground to help the people impacted by the storm, which had already caused some damage.
“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,” it said in a statement.
The storm was expected to bring thunderstorms and strong winds with gusts of up to 260 kilometres per hour to the Cabo Delgado and Nampula provinces, the Mozambique weather service said. More than 250 millimetres (10 inches) of precipitation were expected in 24 hours, it added.
Video images from Pemba showed heavy rain and trees bent by the wind. There were reports that some homes had been damaged by the storm.
The cyclone killed at least 14 people in Mayotte, a security source told AFP Sunday in an updated provisional toll.
‘Lost everything’
Mayotte, which sits 500 kilometres east of Mozambique, is France’s poorest department.
“Many of us have lost everything,” said prefect Francois-Xavier Bieuville, calling Chido “the most violent and destructive cyclone we’ve seen since 1934”.
Mayotte’s alert level had been lowered from violet - the highest - to red to allow emergency responders to leave their bases.
But “the cyclone is not over”, Bieuville warned, urging Mayotte’s roughly 320,000 people to remain “locked down”.
Communications with Mayotte are largely cut off.
Earlier, a resident on the main island of Grande-Terre, Ibrahim Mcolo, described fallen electricity masts, roofs ripped off homes and trees uprooted as the first gusts struck.
“There is no more electricity,” he told AFP from his home, where he had barricaded himself in.
“Even in our house, which is well protected, the water is getting in. I can feel it trembling.”
“It is a time of emergency,” President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X, telling Mayotte residents that “the whole country is by your side” and thanking emergency responders.
Retailleau announced that 140 fresh troops and firefighters would be sent to the scene on Sunday to help with recovery, more than doubling the deployment sent earlier in the week.