The human toll of the cyclone Desirewhich devastated the French archipelago of Mayotte, in the Indian Ocean, on December 14, now stands at 39 dead, according to a new count published Tuesday by the prefect in a press release.
• Also read: Mayotte: 10 days after the cyclone, day of “national mourning” and minute of silence
The number of injured recorded after the passage of the cyclone also stands at 4,136 lightly injured and 124 seriously injured, according to the Ministry of the Interior.
“The mission to identify victims of the cyclone continues its work, in conjunction with the mayors and associations of Mayotte,” said the prefect.
In total, 34 operations have been carried out in recent days to search for missing people in around fifteen identified sectors, according to the ministry, which specifies that “drones are also engaged in these operations”.
Installed in a stadium in the Mamoudzou prefecture, a field hospital equipped with a maternity and two operating theaters opened its doors early Tuesday morning, designed to be able to receive 100 people per day for consultation and ensure 30 hospitalizations.
The most devastating cyclone to hit Mayotte in 90 years caused colossal damage on December 14 in the poorest department in France, where emergency services have since been hard at work restoring essential services such as water, electricity and communications networks.
Concerning water, “it is now 100,000 L […] which are distributed per day,” said the prefect in his press release.
The collection of household waste, an issue that has become central to the ravaged archipelago, is “resuming” according to the ministry.
Still according to the ministry, 63% of the population were covered by the mobile network on Tuesday and 37% had access to electricity, or around 20,000 homes.
As for fuels, the quantities of which were until now limited to 30 L per car at service stations, the restrictions have been lifted.
The air bridge set up between Mayotte, Reunion and France also allows the delivery of more than 100 tonnes of material per day to the Indian Ocean archipelago.
From December 15 to 24, 72 flights were carried out to transport reinforcements, equipment, food and water.
