Race against time for rescuers as hundreds feared dead in Mayotte

Rescuers raced against time on Monday to reach survivors after a devastating cyclone tore through the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte, destroying homes across the islands, with hundreds feared dead.

Pictures from Mayotte, which like other French overseas territories is an integral part of France and ruled from Paris, showed scenes of destruction, with homes reduced to piles of rubble.

The crisis, which erupted at the weekend a day after President Emmanuel Macron named Francois Bayrou as the sixth prime minister in his term, poses a major challenge to a government still operating only in an interim capacity.

The cyclone has left the health system in tatters, with the hospital extremely damaged and the health centers out of order, Health Minister Genevieve Darrieussecq told France 2.

“The hospital has suffered major water damage and destruction, especially in the surgical, intensive care, maternity and emergency wards,” she said, adding that “medical centers were also non-operational”.

Macron was to lead a crisis meeting in Paris at 17:00 GMT, the Elysee said.

Interior Minister Bruno Retaileau, whose super ministry is responsible for Mayotte, arrived on the island.

‘Saw nothing’

Cyclone Chido caused major damage to Mayotte’s airport and cut electricity, water and communications links as it slammed into France’s poorest territory on Saturday.

Asked about the final death toll, Prefect Francois-Xavier Bieuville, the territory’s top Paris-appointed official, told Mayotte la Premiere TV station: “I think for sure there will be hundreds, maybe we will get close to a thousand or even several thousand”.

With roads closed, officials fear many may still be trapped under rubble in the inaccessible areas.

The mayor of Mayotte’s capital Mamoudzou, Ambdilwahedou Soumaila, told AFP the storm “spared nothing”.

“The hospital is hit, the schools are hit. Houses are totally destroyed,” he said.

About 160 additional soldiers and firefighters to reinforce the 110 already deployed.

The nearby French island of La Reunion served as a hub for the rescue efforts.

‘Apocalyptic Scenes’

Chido packed winds of at least 226 kilometers (140 miles) per hour when it slammed into Mayotte, which is east of Mozambique.

At least a third of the area’s 320,000 inhabitants live in shantytowns, where houses with sheet roofs were flattened by the storm.

One resident, Ibrahim, told AFP of “apocalyptic scenes” as he made his way through the main island, clearing blocked roads himself.

As the authorities assessed the scale of the disaster, a first aid plane reached Mayotte on Sunday.

It was carrying three tons of medical supplies, blood for transfusions and 17 medical personnel, according to La Reunion authorities.

Patrice Latron, prefect of Reunion, said residents of Mayotte were facing “an extremely chaotic situation, enormous destruction”.

Two military aircraft are expected to accompany the initial relief flight, while a naval patrol ship was also due to depart from La Reunion.

‘Until the last moment’

There have been international promises to help Mayotte, among others from the regional Red Cross organization PIROI.

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc is “ready to provide support in the coming days”.

The head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the WHO “stands ready to support communities in need of essential health care”.

With around 100,000 people estimated to be living clandestinely on Mayotte, it is difficult to determine how many people have been affected by the cyclone, according to France’s interior ministry.

Ousseni Balahachi, a former nurse, said some people did not dare to venture out to seek help, “fearing it would be a trap” designed to remove them from Mayotte.

Many had stayed put “until the last minute” when it proved too late to escape the cyclone, she added.

Chido is the latest in a series of storms around the world driven by climate change, according to experts.

The “extraordinary” cyclone was supercharged by particularly warm water in the Indian Ocean, meteorologist Francois Gourand of the weather service Meteo France told AFP.

Chido blasted across the Indian Ocean and made landfall in Mozambique on Sunday, where officials said the death toll was three.

The UN humanitarian agency, OCHA, warned that 1.7 million people were at risk and that the remnants of the cyclone could also dump “significant rainfall” on Malawi by Monday.

© 2024 AFP