At least 11 deaths have been reported, but the actual final toll in the island territory could be much worse, officials said.
According to authorities, Cyclone Chido, the strongest storm to hit the French archipelago Mayotte in 90 years, has killed “several hundred” people. Francois-Xavier Bieuville, the local prefect, told Mayotte La 1ere broadcaster that the death toll was potentially in the thousands.
The French interior ministry said “it will be difficult to account for all victims” at this stage. Officials had previously confirmed at least 11 deaths. Authorities said on Sunday that the exact death toll after the cyclone, which also raised concerns over access to food, water, and sanitation, was difficult to determine.
Weather forecaster Meteo France said the cyclone swept through the French territory in the Indian Ocean, bringing winds of more than 200km/h (124mph) and damaging makeshift housing, government buildings and a hospital.
“Everyone understands that this was a cyclone that was unexpectedly violent,” French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou told reporters after an evening inter-ministerial meeting on Saturday.
Located nearly 8,000km (4,970 miles) from Paris, a four-day journey by sea from France, Mayotte is significantly poorer than the rest of the country and has struggled with violence and social unrest for decades.
Tensions ran high in the territory of 320,000 people earlier this year over a water shortage and attempts to restrict citizenship rights.
For the toll, it’s going to be complicated because Mayotte is a Muslim land where the dead are buried within 24 hours,” said a French Ministry of Interior official.
Earlier, acting Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said Chido left a “dramatic” trail of destruction.
“It will take several days” to establish the death toll, but “we fear that it is heavy,” he said as he left a government crisis meeting chaired by Bayrou.
