on purple alert, the highest level, Mayotte barricades itself

“It’s banging everywhere, I fear the worst”: the inhabitants of Mayotte are confined as Cyclone Chido began to hit the Indian Ocean archipelago on Saturday morning, placed on purple alert, the highest level. The eye of the cyclone was located at 9 a.m. local time (7 a.m. Paris time) 30 km northeast of Petite-Terre, the eastern island of the archipelago, with gusts that already exceeded 180 km/h but “will strengthen and could reach 200 to 230 km/h”according to the latest Météo-France bulletin.

Devastating winds greater than the intensity of cyclone Kamisy in 1984, and which can be comparable to historic cyclones such as that of 1934, adds the meteorological service. Electric poles down, tin roofs blown away and trees uprooted: barricaded in his family's concrete house north of Kangani, in the north of Grande-Terre, Ibrahim Mcolo described to AFP the first damage that he sees from his window. “I see all the neighbors’ metal sheets flying away. We see cables torn out, the neighbor's banana tree on the ground. There is no more electricity. Even in our house which is well protected, water enters. I feel her trembling”.

“We are very afraid”

From Ouangani Town Hall, Mayor Youssouf Ambdi says he fears “the worst”. “We can't go out but what's in front of us is impressive. It is certain that there will be material damage. Let us pray that there are no victims”he testifies. The purple cyclone alert, triggered at 5 a.m. local time (3 a.m. in Paris), involves “strict confinement of the entire population, including emergency and security services and all agents mobilized to manage the crisis”specifies a press release published on X from the prefecture of this overseas department.

“We are very afraid”confided Fatima, a resident of Majicavo-Koropa still marked by the passage of a cyclone when she was a child in the neighboring Comoros, remembering the “waves (which) ravaged everything” and “electricity poles on the ground”. This mother of three stocked up on bottles of water, food and candles. Météo-France forecasts “very intense rain and possible marine submersion”weather conditions that cause “a risk of runoff and flooding, and sea swell which can have significant effects on the coastline”said the prefect of Mayotte, François-Xavier Bieuville, on Friday.

Improvement from Saturday at the end of the day

Traffic has been banned on the public roads of the two islands, Grande-Terre and Petite-Terre, and Dzaoudzi airport has been closed since 8:00 p.m. (6:00 p.m. in Paris). The Regional Health Agency (ARS) asks patients to “do not travel but call 15”and adds that “medical resources have been strengthened to care for injured or sick people”. Météo-France forecasters anticipate an improvement in weather conditions “from Saturday at the end of the day”.

To those who live in precarious housing, very numerous in the poorest department in France, the prefect had earlier advised to join one of the 71 accommodation centers “open to all” in schools and gymnasiums. The priority concerns are the approximately 100,000 people living in “unsound dwellings” which were identified by the authorities, out of a total population estimated at 320,000 inhabitants in the archipelago.

Heavy rain in Madagascar

In addition to the broadcast of an SMS alert by the authorities, “the municipal police went to each village”indicated the prefect, particularly in difficult-to-access neighborhoods. “The priority is to keep people safe”assured the mayor of Chiconi, Madi Ousseni Mohamadi, who prepared the college in his commune – closed Friday and Saturday like all educational establishments in the archipelago – to welcome the population. The mayor of this town which borders the coast has also deployed agents to “clear the roadsides of elements that could fly away and cause damage”like car wrecks.

One hundred and ten civil security professionals were sent to Mayotte from Reunion Island. The Mayotte archipelago, relatively untouched by cyclones, was hit by cyclone Belna in 2019, without major damage. In neighboring Comoros, the cyclone alert has also been activated. The General Directorate of Civil Security has ordered the closure of airports from Friday 6:00 p.m. local time (3:00 p.m. GMT) “due to extreme weather conditions”. In Madagascar, the eye of the cyclone approached about a hundred kilometers from the north of the island and caused rain “abundant in the afternoon” as well as a “strong wind” before walking away, according to authorities. “Several neighborhoods are flooded” more “the hardest part seems to be behind us”Cerveau Rakotoson, a resident of Antsiranana, the main town in the north of the island, told AFP.