Mamoudzou hospital, symbol of desolation

MAYOTTE – A disastrous situation. In Mayotte, Cyclone Chido devastated everything in its path and we still do not know the human toll of this natural disaster. The authorities fear “several hundred” deaths and injured people are very difficult to care for while Mayotte Hospital Center was also affected by the storm.

The situation of the healthcare system in Mayotte is “very degraded with a very damaged hospital and medical centers which are also inoperable”declared this Monday, December 16, the Minister of Health, Geneviève Darrieussecq.

“The hospital suffered significant water damage as well as degradation, particularly in the surgery, resuscitation, emergencies, maternity areas – therefore essential parts of the hospital's operations (…). Despite this, it continues to run in a degraded manner”added the minister on France 2.

Need for “ to strenghten » the hospital

Goal: take charge “the influx of new patients”. For that, “we need to strengthen this hospital” by human and material means, explained Geneviève Darrieussecq.

To help the establishment operate, around a hundred caregivers from the health reserve “will leave very quickly” to come and work there and “massive shipments of material” will be carried out. Furthermore, a “field hospital” will also be deployed.

Until now, the “first emergency was to identify seriously ill chronic patients and evacuate them” towards Reunion, detailed Geneviève Darrieussecq. The first evacuations have already taken place and they are continuing.

A risk of epidemic “ important »

“There is no longer a roof in [certains] services, there is water coming into the rooms”, Roger Serhal, head of the obstetrics department at the Mamoudzou hospital, the “capital” of Mahor, testified this Monday on France info. This even though “the rain is starting to fall hard”he specifies.

He also mentions smoke releases in the establishment which require evacuations. On social networks, Internet users shared videos taken at the CHM, showing the flooded corridors, devices and furniture lying around in brackish water.

To make matters worse, Roger Serhal emphasizes that “ there is no more water on the island » and that « the risk of epidemic is significant ».

And « carnage »

“The hospital is affected, the schools are affected. Houses are totally devastated. The phenomenon spared nothing in its path”described the mayor of Mamoudzou Ambdilwahedou Soumaila to AFP. “We still hope to find survivors in the rubble”however, added the councilor later on BFMTV.

“It’s carnage. The court, the prefecture, many services, shops, schools are on the ground”tells AFP Ousseni Balahachi, a retired nurse, from Mamoudzou.

An air and sea bridge was organized from the island of Reunion, a French territory 1,400 km away as the crow flies, to send medical and relief equipment and personnel. A total of 800 civil security personnel are sent as reinforcements, with a field hospital and satellite transmission equipment.

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