French President Emmanuel Macron is scheduled to visit Mayotte after Cyclone Chido hits the island with full force, potentially killing hundreds if not thousands of people. , survivors liken the aftermath to a nuclear war.
A cyclone, believed to have been intensified by the climate crisis, hit the French territory late last week. The island endured one of the most powerful storms ever to hit France’s overseas territories, bringing winds of more than 200 km/h (124 mph), tearing apart houses, flattening entire neighborhoods and disrupting power lines and communications. The line was broken.
At least 34 people have died in Mozambique since Cyclone Chido made landfall on Sunday, the U.N. humanitarian agency OCHA said, citing figures from the southern African country’s disaster authority.
“As of December 17, 2024, a total of 174,158 people are estimated to have been affected, with 34 killed and 319 injured,” OCHA said in a statement, citing information from the Mozambican Institute of Natural Hazards. said.
Mayotte is one of the poorest regions under French rule, with a population of approximately 300,000, located on the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean.
Aerial footage showed entire neighborhoods reduced to rubble, trees uprooted and critical infrastructure torn out. Mahmoud, the island’s capital and one of its most densely populated areas, is now unrecognizable, with many streets strewn with rubble and houses reduced to twisted pieces of metal and wood. .
Before-and-after satellite images released by Maxar Technologies on Tuesday show lush neighborhoods turning into brown, barren wastelands, with roofs ripped off and trees exposed.
“Honestly, what we are experiencing is a tragedy,” Mohamed Ishmael, a Mamouz resident who witnessed the destruction firsthand, told Reuters. “You feel like you’re in the aftermath of a nuclear war. You’ve seen your entire neighborhood disappear within hours.”
The French president said he had gathered key government officials for an emergency meeting at the interior ministry’s crisis center to discuss an action plan for the devastated island.
In a post on social media platform X, Macron said he would take all emergency measures to ensure Mayotte residents continued state functioning.
He also expressed national condolences in the face of this tragedy, adding that he plans to visit the island soon.
“My thoughts are with our compatriots who have endured unimaginable suffering,” Macron told reporters. “The government will mobilize all resources to support the recovery, rebuilding and healing of the island.”
1,600 police and emergency personnel have already been deployed to assist with rescue and recovery efforts, with an additional 800 responders expected to be added in the coming days. But relief efforts are facing delays after Mayotte’s only airport suffered damage to its control tower, making response and rescue efforts complicated by the fact that only military aircraft can fly there.
A French navy ship carrying essential supplies including water, food, generators and medical equipment was en route to Mayotte on Tuesday as authorities scrambled to respond to urgent humanitarian needs.
Officials on the ground say the impact of Cyclone Chido is unprecedented in Mayotte’s modern history. Mayotte governor François-Xavier Vieuxville said road closures and communication disruptions were hampering efforts to assess the full extent of the damage. “The whole community was cut off,” he said. “The destruction is so widespread that it will take days, if not weeks, to fully understand what happened here.”
The human toll of the storm remains unknown. Thousands of people are missing, and initial reports confirm dozens of deaths, but authorities say the number has increased dramatically, with hundreds, perhaps thousands, still missing. I am concerned that this may happen.
Rescue operations are further complicated by the topography and population density of Mayotte, especially in informal settlements.
A French Interior Ministry official previously said: “The casualties will be complicated because Mayotte is a Muslim land where the dead are buried within 24 hours.”
Survivors are now grappling with the harsh realities of the cyclone’s aftermath. Makeshift shelters have sprung up where homes once stood, and clean water, food and electricity remain in short supply. Local aid groups have warned that the humanitarian crisis will worsen unless help arrives soon.
Chido developed into an incredibly powerful cyclone last week, equivalent to a Category 4 hurricane, and hit Mayotte on Saturday. It affected neighboring countries in southeastern Africa, bringing heavy rain and damaging homes in Madagascar, Mozambique and the Comoros Islands before weakening, killing at least three people.
Scientists have warned that the climate crisis and warming oceans are making cyclones more powerful, which is accelerating storms. The Indian Ocean, where Mayotte is located, is warming faster than many other regions, creating ideal conditions for more intense cyclones.
Dr Alex Baker, a meteorologist at the University of Reading, said: “Cyclone Chido rapidly strengthened before making landfall in Mauritius, weakened slightly, and then returned to Category 4 strength before reaching Mayotte and moving into Mozambique. followed,” he said.
“The types of conditions that lead to rapid intensification have become increasingly prevalent in recent decades,” he said, adding that more research is 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 have made the island particularly vulnerable to natural disasters. Informal settlements, which were hastily constructed without proper infrastructure, were among those hardest hit by Chido’s wrath.
The situation is particularly dire for the thousands of undocumented immigrants living on the island. Displaced families are now crowding into temporary shelters, and aid workers are concerned that poor sanitation and a lack of clean water could lead to disease outbreaks.
