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French president Emmanuel Macron will travel to Mayotte after Cyclone Chido tore through the island with ferocious force, leaving potentially hundreds, if not thousands, dead, as survivors liken the aftermath to a nuclear bomb explosion.
The cyclone, likely intensified by the climate crisis, hit the French territory late last week. The island bore the full force of the storm, one of the most powerful to ever hit the French overseas territory, as it brought winds exceeding 200kmph (124mph), ripping apart homes, flattening entire neighbourhoods, and severing power and communication lines.
Mayotte, one of the poorest regions under the French administration of some 300,000 people, is located in the Mozambique Channel of the Indian Ocean.
Aerial footage shows entire neighbourhoods reduced to rubble, trees uprooted, and critical infrastructure torn apart. Mamoudzou, the island’s capital and one of the most densely populated areas, is now unrecognisable, with many streets littered with debris and homes reduced to twisted metal and splintered wood.
“Honestly, what we are experiencing is a tragedy,” Mohamed Ishmael, a resident of Mamoudzou who witnessed the destruction firsthand, told Reuters news agency. “You feel like you are in the aftermath of a nuclear war. I saw an entire neighborhood disappear within hours.”
The French president said he gathered key government officials for an emergency meeting at the interior ministry’s crisis centre, to discuss an action plan for the devastated island.
In a post on social media platform X, Mr Macron said all emergency measures will be deployed to help the inhabitants of Mayotte to ensure the continuity of state functions.
He added that will also declare national mourning in the face of this tragedy and visit the island soon.
“Our thoughts are with our compatriots who have endured unimaginable suffering,” Mr Macron told reporters. “The government will mobilise all resources to help the island recover, rebuild, and heal.”
Already 1,600 police and emergency personnel have been deployed to assist with rescue and recovery operations, and an additional 800 responders are expected in the coming days. However, the rescue mission is facing delay due to logistical difficulties after Mayotte’s only airport suffered damage to its control tower, rendering the ability of all but military aircraft to fly in, complicating response and relief efforts.
French naval ships carrying essential supplies, including water, food, generators, and medical equipment, were en route to Mayotte on Tuesday, as officials raced to address immediate humanitarian needs.
Officials on the ground have described the impact of Cyclone Chido as unprecedented in Mayotte’s modern history. François-Xavier Bieuville, the prefect of Mayotte, said efforts to determine the full extent of the damage are being hindered by blocked roads and disrupted communication networks. “Entire communities have been cut off,” he said. “The destruction is so vast that it will take days, if not weeks, to fully comprehend what has happened here.”
The human toll of the storm remains uncertain. Thousands of people are missing, and while initial reports confirmed dozens of deaths, officials fear the number could rise dramatically, with hundreds, perhaps thousands, unaccounted for.
Rescue operations are further complicated by the terrain and Mayotte’s dense population, particularly in informal settlements.
“For the toll, it’s going to be complicated, because Mayotte is a Muslim land where the dead are buried within 24 hours,” a French interior ministry official said earlier.
Survivors are now grappling with the harsh reality of life in the cyclone’s aftermath. Makeshift shelters have sprung up where homes once stood, and clean water, food, and electricity remain scarce. Aid organisations on the ground are warning of a worsening humanitarian crisis unless immediate relief arrives.
Chido intensified into an incredibly powerful cyclone last week, equivalent to a Category 4 hurricane, and hit Mayotte on Saturday. It impacted surrounding nations in southeastern Africa, bringing heavy rainfall and damaging houses in Madagascar, Mozambique and the Comoros Islands before weakening, killing at least three people.
Scientists warn that cyclones are becoming more powerful because of the climate crisis and warming oceans, which fuels the storms. The Indian Ocean, where Mayotte is located, is warming at a faster rate than many other regions, providing the ideal conditions for cyclones to intensify.
“Cyclone Chido underwent rapid intensification before landfall in Mauritius, weakened slightly, and then regained its Category 4-equivalent intensity before reaching Mayotte and continuing to Mozambique,” Dr Alex Baker, a meteorologist at University of Reading, said.
“The kinds of conditions that lead to rapid intensification have become increasingly prevalent over recent decades,” he said, adding that more studies will be needed to understand the impact.
Mayotte was already grappling with significant social and economic challenges before the cyclone struck. Overcrowding, poverty, and unregulated urban development made the island particularly vulnerable to natural disasters. Informal settlements, built hastily and without proper infrastructure, were among the hardest hit by Chido’s fury.
For the thousands of undocumented migrants living on the island, the situation is especially dire. Displaced families are now crowding temporary shelters, and aid workers fear that poor sanitation and a lack of clean water could trigger outbreaks of disease.
Source: independent.co.uk
