“The situation is catastrophic” in Mayotte after the passage of Cyclone Chido on the Indian Ocean archipelago on Saturday morning, lamented the president of the association of mayors of this French overseas department, Madi Madi Souf.
“We do not know if there are any victims, but given the damage it is probable,” added this elected official, contacted by telephone while he was in mainland France. The archipelago, placed on purple cyclone alert, the highest level, suffered winds of more than 220 km/h, according to Météo-France.
Winds of 230 km/h
“Thousands of homes are without electricity. Even the emergency services are confined, there is no network, we cannot get in touch with the people on the island. We fear discovering a catastrophe,” the president of the national union of professional firefighters of Mayotte, Abdoul Karim Ahmed Allaoui, testified on BFMTV.
The eye of the cyclone swept across northern Mayotte early in the morning. Two people died in the Petite-Terre sector. This intense tropical cyclone, with winds of more than 220 km/h, is “the most violent and destructive” that the territory has experienced in 90 years, according to the prefect of the poorest department in France, François-Xavier Bieuville .
“Many of us have lost everything”
Closed until further notice, the airport has “suffered major damage, particularly the control tower,” the resigning Minister of Transport François Durovray indicated on X.
“Traffic will initially be restored with military relief aircraft. Ships are engaged to ensure supplies,” he added. “Many of us have lost everything,” lamented the prefect of the poorest department in France, François-Xavier Bieuville, reporting the “most violent and destructive cyclone we have experienced since 1934.”
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