More than five weeks after the passage of Cyclone Chido, access to drinking water remains a daily struggle for many Mahorais. Between empty shelves, distrust of tap water and insufficient distribution, residents are adapting as best they can to a crisis which highlights the fragilities of the supply network in this department of the Indian Ocean.
Sandi Blanao, 64, wandered through three stores before finding bottles of water in a supermarket in Mamoudzou. “To have it, you have to be strong”whispers the man as he places two packs – the maximum quantity allowed by the store – in his cart. A few hours later, the five pallets of bottled water that had just been placed in the central aisle are already empty, leaving dozens of customers in disarray. When a new shipment arrives, everyone rushes for it.
The cyclone left 39 dead and around 2,500 injured, according to a still provisional report.
More than five weeks after the passage of Cyclone Chido in Mayotte, drinking water stalls in the French department of the Indian Ocean remain under attack. However, there is no supply problem, assures AFP a distributor who wishes to remain anonymous. But a combination of problems, between a greater demand due to the absence of water from which part of the population still suffers, the distrust of the Mahorais for the tap and the delays necessary for the arrival of new orders.
Read also“Corals, sponges, gorgonians, there is absolutely nothing left”: the lagoon of Mayotte, a world treasure, damaged by Chido
-In the meantime, the Mahorais are using the D system, starting with word of mouth to find out where to find bottles. And they no longer ask any questions. “As soon as there is some, we take some”summarizes Antoy Bacar, 45, in the aisles of the Sodifram supermarket – a local group – in Hauts-Vallons, in the north of the department's capital, where a few bottles are still on the shelves. The director of the establishment, Ramzi Boukhris, recognizes that it is complicated to meet customer demand since the passage of the cyclone, which left 39 dead and around 2,500 injured, according to a still provisional report.
Despite the four to six pallets of water he receives daily, sales have tripled, he assures. And as the orders put hab[…]
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