Firefighters, Secours populaire, all relief and assistance organizations are mobilized to help Mayotte. On the other hand, the PUI strike force remains in Limoges for the moment, and several reasons explain this delay. Explanations.
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In terms of assistance, PUIs are a strike force already widely tested in the event of a natural disaster. Their departure to help the victims of Mayotte seemed obvious… but they are still on Limousin soil. For their president Philippe Besson: “It’s a hassle. Because we could go as far as Reunion Island, but without having any guarantee of getting to Mayotte.”
A departure prevented by the state of Mayotte airport which was devastated by cyclone “Chido”. All commercial flights are canceled. There is no longer a control tower at Marcel Henry airport in Mayotte. Only military planes can land. The International Emergency firefighters offered their services to the Ministry of the Interior on Saturday December 14, 2024, a few hours after the cyclone passed through the archipelago.
A frustrating wait
Philippe Besson feels a lot of frustration: “We have several water purification units, a field hospital and forty rescuers who can leave. No response to date.” The request went out several times. The PUIs have existed for twenty years and are recognized by the UN… Their last intervention was in Spain, after the floods in the province of Valencia. What blocks their departure for Mayotte is their status. The firefighters can leave, because they are state services, however, the PUIs have an associative status. The green light for an emergency departure seems to take longer to obtain.
Generally, we operate in foreign countries. The country accepts international aid and we leave. This time, we wait! We had the same difficulties in Saint-Martin.
Philippe BessonPresident of the International Emergency Fire Brigade
The Emergency firefighters hope to be able to leave for Mayotte on Friday, December 20 at the earliest.
The damage caused by storm Chido on the Mayotte archipelago is immeasurable. The provisional human toll shows 20 people dead, but the prefect on site expects “several hundred, even a few thousand” deaths.
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© Daniel Mouhamadi – AFP
Firefighters from Creuse and Corrèze already on their way to Mayotte
The three departments of Limousin send men and equipment. The SDIS of Corrèze dispatches five firefighters to the affected island, they will join a doctor also captain of SDIS 19 who was already on site. The team will have to put in place place advanced medical posts, because the Mayotte hospital is partially destroyed. Lack of drinking water and food, beyond the damage, the authorities fear a major health crisis, with the appearance of diseases such as cholera. The team made a stopover in Reunion before transferring to Mayotte this Wednesday, December 17.
The Corrèze team must stay there for two weeksbefore perhaps being relayed.
In Creuse, there are three pfirefighters with advanced medical post equipment who left this Tuesday, December 17, also for a two-week mission. Even diagram for SDIS 87, which dispatches two firefighters to the site.
