Cyclone Chido: Solidarity is organized in Mayotte in the face of the “tragedy”

National solidarity is beginning to be organized in Mayotte after the devastating and deadly passage of Cyclone Chido, a “tragedy” for Emmanuel Macron who announced that he will visit the archipelago “in the coming days”.

Three days after the passage of this cyclone, the most intense that Mayotte has experienced in 90 years, the battered archipelago is lacking everything, and residents are alarmed by the deteriorating health situation.

“Faced with this tragedy which upsets each of us, I will declare national mourning,” said on X Monday evening after a government crisis meeting the head of state, who will go “in the coming days” to Mayotte “in support » to the population and all those mobilized.

“The toll will be heavy”

“The island is totally devastated” declared the resigning Minister of the Interior Bruno Retailleau in Reunion, upon returning from a trip to Mayotte, specifying that “70% of the inhabitants have been seriously affected”.

The cyclone ravaged the Indian Ocean territory on Saturday, the poorest department in France, where around a third of the population lives in precarious housing, which has been completely destroyed.

The prefect ordered the establishment of a mission to search for the dead, the authorities, “unable” to give an assessment for the moment, fearing “several hundred” deaths, perhaps even “a few thousand” in this case. archipelago with many shanty towns.

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.

“Vital needs”

Chido was likely favored by surface waters near 30°C, which provides more energy for storms, a global warming phenomenon already observed elsewhere this fall.

The impact was especially exceptional in Mayotte because the cyclone was “heading straight towards it”, explains to AFP the specialist in the phenomenon at Météo-France, Sébastien Langlade. Three days after the disaster, the priority is to ensure the “vital needs” of residents in terms of water and food, Bruno Retailleau insisted on Monday, while the archipelago still lacks everything.

“We risk a health crisis,” warned Ben Issa Ousseni, the president of the Departmental Council on the Mayotte la 1ère channel. According to the Ministry of the Interior, 50% of running water will be restored within 48 hours.

20 tons of material

On the archipelago, the first medical desert in France, the only hospital, badly damaged, is “gradually resuming its activity” and will be supported by a field hospital from Thursday, indicated Bruno Retailleau.

The situation of the healthcare system is “very degraded” in Mayotte, declared the resigning Minister of Health, Geneviève Darrieussecq. On Monday, the first 25 patients “in urgent situations” were evacuated to Reunion.

Another priority for the authorities, sending tents and tarpaulins to restore habitats, completely destroyed or the roof torn off by gusts of wind which reached more than 220 km/h. According to the French Red Cross, 20 tonnes of material are being transported.

National solidarity

Faced with the emergency, the new Prime Minister François Bayrou called for “national solidarity” Monday evening, from his municipal council in Pau. Numerous human and material reinforcements are mobilized, with the sending of 1,500 civilian and military personnel including 400 gendarmes, 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, although they are “priority(ies) to allow security and economic recovery,” lamented the resigning Minister of Industry, Marc Ferracci.

Rescuers are still looking for victims and expect to find many victims in the rubble of the very populated shanty towns, particularly in the heights of Mamoudzou, the capital having called on Monday its adult residents and in “good physical condition” to “strengthen the teams on the ground.

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