Two days ago, Mayotte was hit by Cyclone Chido causing considerable damage, a health and social crisis is feared.
48 hours after the passage of Cyclone Chido, the human and material toll is still difficult to establish. On site, Fahad Idaroussi Tsimanda, doctor in geography on natural risks and vulnerabilities and researcher at Paul-Valéry University in Montpellier, is worried about the cruel lack of drinking water, which is becoming increasingly felt. Contacted by Midi Libre, he took stock of the situation.
A long process
Devastated towns and villages, deprivation of vital needs… The geographer fears several crises in the days to come. “The risks are multiple. First, there is a health risk: Mayotte has been going through a water crisis for several years and this cyclonic crisis will exacerbate the situation. There will inevitably be people who will not have access to water. drinking water. Then, there is also a risk of looting, of social crisis. Hunger will certainly force people to go and loot stocks in stores.he fears.
Lagam Montpellier III
The process of rehabilitating the island is expected to be very long, “several months” according to Fahad Idaroussi Tsimanda. But for the moment, it is time to clear the most affected areas. Where the damage is less, that is to say when the infrastructures have been gutted and not razed, the locals are already busy rebuilding. “But the resilience capacity of those affected is less…”he laments.
Essential needs
One of the main problems: access to drinking water, which is “really essential”. The lack is particularly felt during domestic uses (cooking, cleaning, intimate needs, etc.), but recovery in the coming hours is not expected. “Drinking water goes hand in hand with the electricity network because to turn on the pumps that distribute the water, you need electricity”he explains
Food is also a real need for the Mahorese population, especially since products from local production have been destroyed. “Almost all of the fruit trees have had their branches torn off. The banana fields have been razed. In the months to come, there will be absolutely nothing. We will really depend on external aid.”
Torn between desolation and chaos, the Mahorais can only see the damage caused by Chido. Although the area comes “to enter a cyclonic period” and that “this phase will not end until April”the geographer is rather optimistic and does not think that an episode of similar violence will hit Mayotte again.
