Chido brought winds in excess of 220 kph, according to the French weather service, ripping roofs off houses in the archipelago which has a population of just over 300,000 and lies around 800km off Mozambique.
Several people have been killed after Cyclone Chido battered the French overseas territory of Mayotte in what officials say is the worst storm to hit the Indian Ocean island in almost a century.
Chido brought winds in excess of 220kph, according to the French weather service, ripping roofs off houses in the archipelago which has a population of just over 300,000 and lies around 800km off Mozambique.
Speaking at an inter-ministerial crisis meeting in Paris, France’s Prime Minister François Bayrou said the short to mid-term consequences of the storm are increasing risk factors.
“The concern is not only for the short term and the relief and assistance that we can provide, but it is also the medium term for the supply of water, food, especially for the most sensitive facilities: prisons, detention centres. And all of this is obviously a risk factor that is accumulating,” he said.
Earlier on Saturday, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said a “very provisional” tally showed that “a few people” had been killed but couldn’t give precise numbers as rescuers hadn’t been able to assess the situation on the ground.
“In the coming hours and days, we will surely have to study short-term housing solutions, just as we will also send military gendarmerie reinforcements. And of course we will have to house them, to feed them. But, the essential needs today, beyond relief – relief is now urgent,” he told reporters at the emergency meeting in Paris.
In a post on X, France’s Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu said the military had been mobilised and that a flight carrying relief supplies was already heading to the islands which lie almost 8,000km from Paris.
French President Emmanuel Macron said he was closely monitoring the situation.
“Our island is being hit by the most violent and destructive cyclone since 1934. Many of us have lost everything,” Mayotte prefect François-Xavier Bieuville said in a Facebook post.
He said the highest alert had been lifted so that rescuers can help after the worst of the cyclone had passed.
The French Interior Ministry said 1,600 police and gendarmerie officers have been deployed to “help the population and prevent potential looting.”
Some 110 rescuers and firefighters sent to Mayotte from France and the nearby territory of La Réunion have been deployed and an additional reinforcement of 140 people will be sent on Sunday.
French Transport Minister François Durovray said Mayotte airport was “badly damaged, particularly the control tower” by the cyclone in a message on X.
He said infrastructure on the island had been heavily impacted and air traffic will first be reopened to military aircraft only. Ships are being used to provide supplies.
Mayotte is still under red alert for the general population and people were asked to “remain confined in a solid shelter,” prefect Bieuville said.
Only emergency and security services were allowed to go out.
Local broadcaster Mayotte la 1ere said that thousands of homes were without power, tin huts and other small structures had been blown away and many trees had been blown over.
Mayotte is France’s poorest department and has previously struggled with drought and lack of investment.
It’s also struggled to tackle gang violence and tensions spiked earlier this year due to a water shortage.
