Three days after Cyclone Chido hit Mayotte, the State responded to the disaster. A nighttime curfew will be put in place in the archipelago between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m., the Ministry of the Interior announced on Tuesday, November 17, confirming information from BFMTV. Monday evening, the resigning Minister of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau, affirmed that this measure could be implemented by the prefect “as soon as he judges him[it] necessary”. “We must do everything necessary to ensure order and security on the island”said Tuesday, on franceinfo, the president of the National Assembly, Yaël Braun-Pivet. Follow our live stream.
• A risk of epidemics and “starvation”. The priority is to ensure the “vital needs” inhabitants with water and food, estimated Bruno Retailleau, describing an archipelago “totally devastated”. “We risk a health crisis”alerted Ben Issa Ousseni, the president of the departmental council, on the Mayotte La 1ère channel. In addition to possible epidemics, he mentioned “a risk of famine”aggravated by the annihilation of local agricultural production, first and foremost banana plantations.
• Help is being organized. Numerous human and material reinforcements are mobilized, with the sending of 1,500 civilian and military personnel and 13 planes, according to the authorities. Solidarity is already being organized on the ground, despite degraded conditions, while a large part of the archipelago is still deprived of electricity, mobile network and internet, yet “priority[s] to enable security and economic recovery”lamented the resigning Minister of Industry, Marc Ferracci.
• A balance sheet still uncertain. The prefect ordered the establishment of a search mission for the dead, while the authorities say they “incapable” to give a reliable assessment for the moment. The count is all the more complicated because Mayotte is a land with a strong Muslim tradition and, according to Islamic rites, many of the deceased were probably buried within 24 hours of their death. “The toll will be heavy, too heavy”predicted Bruno Retailleau. At this stage, 21 deaths have been officially recorded.
A national mourning soon declared. “Faced with this tragedy which upsets each of us, I will declare national mourning”announced Emmanuel Macron, Monday evening, after a government crisis meeting. The head of state announced that he would go “in the coming days” in Mayotte “in support” to the population and all those mobilized. The Prime Minister, François Bayrou, also promised to go there “on the theme of reconstruction”.
