[CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) – The death toll in the French territory of Mayotte from Cyclone Chido is “several hundred” and may run into the thousands, the island’s top government official told a local broadcaster Sunday.
France rushed rescue teams and supplies to its largely poor overseas department in the Indian Ocean that has suffered widespread destruction.
“I think there are some several hundred dead, maybe we’ll get close to a thousand. Even thousands … given the violence of this event,” Mayotte Prefect François-Xavier Bieuville told TV station Mayotte la 1ere.
The cyclone brought winds in excess of 220 kph (136 mph) and caused major damage to public infrastructure, including the airport, flattening neighborhoods and knocking out electricity supplies.
The French Interior Ministry confirmed at least 11 deaths and more than 250 injuries earlier Sunday, but said that was expected to increase substantially.
Bieuville said the worst devastation had been seen in the slums of metal shacks and informal structures that mark much of Mayotte. “I think the human toll is much higher,” he added.
French President Emmanuel Macron said his “thoughts” were with the Mayotte people, and Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau was due to travel to Mayotte on Monday.
Rescuers and firefighters were sent from France and the nearby French territory of Reunion, and supplies were rushed in on military aircraft and ships. Damage to the airport’s control tower meant only military aircraft were able to fly in.
France wants to establish an air and sea bridge from Reunion to Mayotte and aims to send 800 more rescuers in the coming days.
The cyclone has caused serious damage in Comoros and Madagascar as well, and Mozambique authorities warned of a high danger of landslides in the north of the country.
UNICEF said Cabo Delgado province, home to around 2 million people, was the first region to be hit and many homes, schools and health facilities have been partially or completely destroyed.
December through to March is cyclone season in the southwestern Indian Ocean, and southern Africa has been pummeled by a series of strong ones in recent years.
The cyclones bring the risk of flooding and landslides, but also stagnant pools of water may later spark deadly outbreaks of the waterborne disease cholera as well as dengue fever and malaria.
Studies say the cyclones are getting worse because of climate change, which underlines the call for more help from rich nations to deal with the impact of climate change.
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