Climate-Fueled Cyclone Chido Kills at Least ‘Several Hundred’ in French Territory of Mayotte

What is being called the worst storm in nearly a century — a cyclone packing 140 miles-per-hour winds — has killed from “several hundred” to possibly thousands in Mayotte, a French territory in the Indian Ocean.

The island’s residents described “apocalyptic scenes” caused by Cyclone Chido, which decimated areas where people lived in shacks with sheet-metal roofs, leaving survivors without access to food or basic services, reported BBC News.

“We’ve had no water for three days now,” said a resident of Mayotte’s capital city, Mamoudzou.

Rescue workers were sifting through the debris in search of survivors. Twenty deaths have been confirmed, but according to the local prefect, the number of fatalities could be in the thousands.

“The totality of the slums have been totally destroyed, we haven’t received any reports of displaced people, so the reality could be terrible in the coming days,” Eric Sam Vah, a French Red Cross spokesperson, told BBC Radio 4’s Today program.

Authorities were having trouble establishing how many people had lost their lives because nearly a third of the island’s population is made up of undocumented migrants — more than 100,000 of the 320,000 residents.

Emergency operations were being impeded by widespread infrastructure damage caused by the cyclone.

“The hospital has suffered major water damage and destruction, notably in the surgical, intensive care, maternity and emergency units,” Geneviève Darrieussecq, France’s health minister, told France 2 on Monday, as The Guardian reported. Darrieussecq added that “medical centres were also non-operational.”

Mayotte’s airport suffered significant damage, with the powerful storm downing power lines and leaving residents without water, electricity or communication.

Though many roads were impassable, supplies had begun to arrive. Most of the territory — 85 percent — was without power.

Water was also becoming available in some areas, but not for everyone.

“The water here is completely yellow. It’s unusable for us,” Amalia Mazon, a midwife at Mayotte’s central hospital, who is originally from Brussels, told the BBC. “We feel completely abandoned, and we don’t even know if help is coming.”

Regarding the eventual death toll, Prefect Francois-Xavier Bieuville, who is the top official appointed by Paris in the territory, told Mayotte la Premiere broadcasting service, “I think there will definitely be several hundred, perhaps we will come close to a thousand or even several thousand,” reported AFP.

Officials feared that, with roads closed, many people could be trapped beneath the rubble in inaccessible areas.

Mamoudzou’s Mayor Ambdilwahedou Soumaila told AFP that the powerful cyclone had “spared nothing.”

Approximately 160 additional firefighters and soldiers had been deployed to reinforce the 110 who were already helping with recovery efforts in the archipelago.

“The images are apocalyptic. It’s a disaster, there’s nothing left,” a nurse at Mamoudzou hospital told French news network BFMTV, as BBC News reported.

Mayotte was colonized by France in 1841. By the beginning of the 20th Century, it had added the three main Comoros archipelago islands to its overseas territories. In 1974, the Comoros voted for independence, but Mayotte did not join them, remaining part of France.

Mayotte’s residents have struggled with unemployment, poverty and political instability. Roughly 75 percent of the population lives below the national poverty line, while about a third of residents are jobless.

Cyclone Chido also hit Mozambique, bringing flash flooding and damaging buildings. Three deaths had been reported in the East African nation.

Chido, the most recent in a series of deadly storms, strengthened as it made its way over the ocean, according to Sarah Keith-Lucas with the BBC Weather Centre. Keith-Lucas said storms had become stronger due to climate change.

The cyclone had been downgraded to a “depression” and was set to cross southern Malawi before moving into Zimbabwe overnight into tomorrow. The storm could still bring nearly six to 12 inches of rain before the end of Tuesday.