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The death toll from a cyclone that hit France’s Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte on Saturday is likely to be several hundred, a local official has warned.
Entire communities were flattened when Cyclone Chido made landfall, causing wind gusts of more than 225 km/h.
The last reported death toll stood at 11, but speaking to local media, the island’s prefect, Francois-Xavier Bieuville, said it will “definitely be several hundred” once the damage is fully assessed, adding a “few thousand people might have died.”.
French President Emmanuel Macron earlier said France would “be there” for the people of Mayotte and was sending 250 rescue workers.
France’s interior minister Bruno Retailleau said, “All makeshift homes have been destroyed,” and he feared a “heavy” death toll.
On Saturday, one local news source reported that 11 people were killed and 246 injured, based on a hospital report. AFP had reported a higher death toll—at least 14—citing a security source.
Most of the island’s 300,000 or so inhabitants live in shacks with sheet metal roofs, and tens of thousands of people have lost their homes.
Electricity, water, and internet connections are all down. The government in Paris has sent a military transport plane with supplies and emergency workers.
The territory’s Pamandzi airport “suffered major damage, especially to the control tower.
Even before the cyclone hit with full force on Saturday morning, there were reports of trees being uprooted, roofs being ripped off buildings and power lines being down.
