World

Death toll expected to rise after cyclone hits France’s Mayotte

Cyclone Chido has claimed at least 11 lives.

A devastated hill on the French territory of Mayotte (Medecins du Monde/AP)
A devastated hill on the French territory of Mayotte (Medecins du Monde/AP) (AP)

At least 11 people have died after Cyclone Chido caused devastating damage in the French territory of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean, France’s Interior Ministry said.

The ministry said it was proving difficult to get a precise tally of the dead and injured amid fears the death toll will increase.

A hospital in Mayotte reported that nine people were in critical condition in the hospital and 246 others were injured.

The tropical cyclone blew through the southeastern Indian Ocean, also affecting the nearby islands of Comoros and Madagascar.

Mayotte was directly in the path of the cyclone and suffered extensive damage on Saturday, officials said. The prefect of Mayotte said it was the worst cyclone to hit Mayotte in 90 years.

Join the Irish News Whatsapp channel

The ministry said 1,600 police and gendarmerie officers have been deployed to “help the population and prevent potential looting”.

French President Emmanuel Macron said he was closely monitoring the situation, while Pope Francis offered prayers for the victims of the cyclone while on a visit on Sunday to the French Mediterranean island of Corsica.

France’s Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau (right)
France’s Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau (right) (Henry Nicholls/PA)

French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said on Saturday night after an emergency meeting in Paris that there were fears that the death toll in Mayotte “will be high”.

Prime Minister Francois Bayrou, who took office on Friday, said public infrastructure had been severely damaged or destroyed, including the main hospital and the airport.

Chido brought winds in excess of 136mph, according to the French weather service, ripping metal roofs off houses and destroying many small structures in Mayotte, which has a population of just over 300,000 spread over two main islands about 500 miles off Africa’s east coast.

In some parts, entire neighbourhoods were flattened, while local residents reported many trees had been uprooted and boats had been flipped or sunk.

The main airport also suffered major damage, the French transport minister said.

France’s poorest island, Mayotte has previously struggled with drought and underinvestment.

Chido has now made landfall in Mozambique on the African mainland, where emergency officials had warned that 2.5 million people could be impacted in two northern provinces.

Landlocked countries Malawi and Zimbabwe have also made plans and are preparing to be affected, with both countries warning they might have to evacuate people from low-lying areas because of flooding.

A series of strong cyclones have hit the southeastern Indian Ocean in recent years, including Cyclone Idai in 2019 that left more than 1,500 people dead in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe.