the moving testimony of this Breton woman who returned from the hell of Mayotte

See my news
Follow Le Petit Bleu

It is in Petite-Terre, an island of 14 km²which Blandine Revelhis companion Pierre, a gendarme, and Marin, their 14-month-old son, live in the northeast of Grande-Terre.

After the passage of Cyclone Chido, where she was able to measure the extent of the damage it caused, she was able to reach, with her son, the Metropolis, on the side of Pludunonear Dinan (Côtes-d'Armor).

disbelief

“We received an alert on Thursday, December 12 via the Prefecture's social networks informing us of the passage of the cyclone on Saturday. On Friday, we had confirmation that Mayotte was going to be hit hard,” says Blandine.

Advice is provided to protect yourself as best as possible: calfeutragemove away everything near the windows… Emergency accommodation centersin hard form, are put in place for all those living in precarious situations.

“There was no panic among the population. More like disbelief. Mayotte is not faced with cyclones, we did not expect such violence.”

Under a mattress for two hours, a terrifying noise

And yet, the worst is to come, with the wind blowing from Saturday at 8 a.m., the strongest being unleashed between 10 and 12 p.m.

“We thought our roof was going to fly off, and yet we live in a permanent house. We had information from friends whose roofs had been blown off, their windows exploded…”.

The trio shelters in one of the rooms, under a mattress during these two nightmarish hours:

“It’s a long, very long time in such conditions. The noise was impressive, it was terrifying.”

Around 1 p.m., it’s the lull“we opened the windows and discovered a landscape at the end of the world: debris everywhere, houses gutted, trees littering the road, wires torn out… Our neighbors were calling their loved ones, chaos reigned, worry was omnipresent . People were haggard, stunned. As of Sunday, we knew that there were 35 deaths on Petite Terre alone.

Solidarity

Solidarity between neighbors is organized very quickly, to clear up, help, deal with the most urgent.

Pierre was immediately mobilized with his colleagues to provide help to the Mahorais. As for his barracks, it was completely destroyed.

The day after Chido, the emergency is food related: no more food, no drinking water, it's system D to best rehouse those who had lost everything. Here again, solidarity plays a big role.

On Wednesday, Blandine learns that it is possible to be repatriated by the gendarmerielike other military families.

“I had two hours to prepare my things and those of Marin. It's for him that I left. I went from total chaos to a normal life in the metropolis, with this festive side so out of step with what I had seen… It was heartbreaking to leave, I had the feeling of abandonment.

Collection of donations in Pluduno on January 4

Once arrived, Blandine was quick to set up a collection, “I am in contact with an association in Rennes which concentrates all the donations, to direct them to Bordeaux where a transporter will transport them in containers. It will take a month and a half to travel, but the needs will still be present at that time,” she concludes.

The municipality of Pluduno committed to his side by making the multipurpose room available to collect donations, Saturday January 4, 2025 from 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

In order to help the population, here is the list of recommended material donations:

summer clothes adults and children (T-shirts, polo shirts, shirts, tank tops, shorts, Bermuda shorts, dresses, skirts, pants, underwear, socks, shoes, sandals, flip-flops, caps, hats, etc.); essential hygiene products (soap, hydroalcoholic gel, wipes, mosquito repellent, hygienic protection, toothbrushes, toothpaste); baby food and hygiene products (pots of puree, compotes, powdered milk and cereals, baby bottles, diapers, diapers, etc.)

Follow all the news from your favorite cities and media by subscribing to Mon Actu.