The Mayotte archipelago, 101st French department, was devastated on Saturday by “the worst cyclone to hit the islands in almost a century”observe the BBC. “At least two people were reported killed when Cyclone Chido made landfall on Saturday, bringing wind gusts of more than 225 km/h”.
Even before the cyclone “don’t knock [l’archipel] On Saturday morning, there were already reports of uprooted trees, roofs torn off buildings and falling power lines.adds the British broadcaster.
“It’s time for urgency”President Emmanuel Macron declared on X, ensuring that “the whole country” was alongside the Mahorais. The resigning Minister of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau, for his part mentioned a “dramatic situation”and warned that it would probably take several days to “refine” the human toll, fearing that it will be “heavy”. The minister will visit the archipelago on Monday.
According to him, the“precarious housing”which concerns at least a third of the population of the archipelago, was “completely destroyed”.
Airport “impassable”
“Mayotte is going through an unprecedented crisis, leaving its inhabitants in a critical situation”freak out for the part Comoros Morning. “The island is practically isolated from the rest of the world, with trade limited to military aircraft only. The airport, now impassable, paralyzes the arrival of relief and complicates efforts to respond to an alarming humanitarian situation.”
The Comorian media also specifies that a “power cut affects nearly 15,000 homes” and that “the collapse of infrastructure also affected the maternity ward, a pillar of the local health system”inflicting “additional pressure on already weakened health services”.
Newly appointed Prime Minister François Bayrou took part in an interministerial crisis meeting on Saturday evening, at the end of which he assured that “state services [étaient] present and organized” facing a cyclone “unexpectedly violent”. He also deplored a situation “dramatic” et “absolutely exceptional”.
Prevent looting
The BBC underlines that Mayotte had initially been placed “under purple alert, the highest level”imposing “strict confinement of the entire population, including emergency services”. He has since been “lowered to the red level, to allow emergency services to leave their bases”.
According to Euronewssome “1,600 police and gendarmes have been deployed” pour “help the population and prevent possible looting”et “110 rescue workers and firefighters were sent to Mayotte from France and the neighboring territory of Reunion”. An additional reinforcement of 140 people will be sent on Sunday.
The Mayotte archipelago, “significantly poorer” than the metropolis, “has been grappling with gang violence and social unrest for decades”notice German wave. “These tensions were also fueled by water cuts at the start of the year”.
After sweeping Mayotte, Cyclone Chido was off the coast of Mozambique on Sunday morning, where it is expected to make landfall in the coming hours. With winds of over 210 km/h, it is the equivalent of“a category 4 hurricane” in the Atlantic Ocean, specifies the New York Times.
