Hundreds of people, perhaps even thousands, may have been killed by Cyclone Chido in the French Indian Ocean archipelago of Mayotte, a senior French official said via local media channel Mayotte La 1ere on Sunday (15).
“I believe there will certainly be hundreds, perhaps we will reach a thousand, even thousands,” local mayor François-Xavier Bieuville said on the channel.
Asked about the death toll, the French Interior Ministry said “it will be difficult to count all the victims” and said a number could not be determined at this time.
said Météo-France, France’s national weather service, bringing winds of more than 200 km/h and damaging makeshift housing, government buildings and a hospital. It was the strongest storm in more than 90 years to hit the islands, the meteorologist said.
According to officials, it was difficult to determine the exact death toll, which also raised concerns about access to food, water and sanitation.
“In terms of the death toll, it will be complicated, because Mayotte is a Muslim land, where the dead are buried within 24 hours,” a French Interior Ministry official previously said.
Located almost 8,000 km from Paris and a four-day journey by sea, Mayotte is significantly poorer than the rest of France and has faced gang violence and social unrest for decades.
Tensions were fueled earlier this year by water shortages.
