Rescuers were hard pressed Monday to reach survivors after a devastating cyclone hit the French Indian Ocean region of Mayotte, destroying homes across islands and leaving hundreds feared dead.
Images from Mayotte, which like other French overseas territories is an integral part of France and governed from Paris, showed scenes of devastation, with homes reduced to piles of debris.
The crisis, which erupted over the weekend after President Emmanuel Macron appointed François Bayrou as prime minister for the sixth of his mandate, poses a major challenge for a government that is still operating only in a caretaker capacity.
Health Minister Geneviève Darrieux told France 2 that the cyclone had disrupted health services, with hospitals deeply damaged and health centers out of operation.
“The hospital suffered major damage and destruction from the water, especially in the surgical, intensive care, maternity and emergency units,” he said, adding that “the medical centers were also not operational”.
The Elysee said Macron was due to chair a crisis meeting in Paris.
Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, whose super ministry is responsible for Mayotte, arrived on the island.
Cyclone Chido caused major damage to Mayotte’s airport and cut off electricity, water and communications Saturday, wreaking havoc in France’s poorest region.
Asked about the final death toll, Prefect Francois-Xavier Beauville, the top Paris-appointed official in the region, told broadcaster Mayotte la Premiere: “I think there will definitely be several hundred people, maybe we will have a thousand. Or will come closer to several thousand.” ,
With roads closed, officials fear that many people may still be trapped under debris in inaccessible areas.
Ambadilvahedo Soumaila, mayor of Mamoudzou, the capital of Mayotte, told AFP that the storm “spared nothing”.
“Hospitals have been affected. Schools have been affected. Houses have been completely destroyed,” he said.
About 160 additional soldiers and firefighters arrived to reinforce the 110 already deployed.
The nearby French island of La Reunion was serving as the center of rescue operations.
‘Apocalyptic scene’
Chido was packing winds of at least 226 kilometers per hour when it hit Mayotte, which is located east of Mozambique.
At least a third of the area’s 320,000 residents live in slums, where homes with sheet-metal roofs were destroyed by the storm.
One resident, Ibrahim, told AFP of “apocalyptic scenes” as he drove through the main island, and had to clear blocked roads himself.
As officials assessed the scale of the disaster, a first aid plane arrived in Mayotte on Sunday.
According to La Reunion officials, it contained three tons of medical supplies, blood for transfusion, and 17 medical staff.
Patrice Latron, the prefect of Reunion, said residents of Mayotte were facing “an extremely chaotic situation, massive destruction.”
Two military aircraft were expected to arrive after the initial support flight, while a navy patrol ship was also scheduled to depart from La Reunion.
International pledges have been made to help Mayotte, including from the regional Red Cross organisation, PIROI.
European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc “stands ready to provide assistance in the coming days.”
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said WHO “stands ready to support communities in need of essential health care.”
According to the French Interior Ministry, about 100,000 people are estimated to be living in secret on Mayotte, making it difficult to ascertain how many have been affected by the cyclone.
Ouseni Balahachi, a former nurse, said some people did not dare ask for assistance, “fearing it would be a trap designed to remove them from Mayotte”.
He said many people stayed put “until the last minute” when it was too late to escape the cyclone.
According to experts, Chido is the latest in a series of storms hitting the world due to climate change.
Météo Francois Gourand, a meteorologist with the France weather service, told AFP that the “extraordinary” cyclone was super-charged by particularly warm Indian Ocean waters.
Chido blasted across the Indian Ocean and made landfall in Mozambique on Sunday, where officials said the death toll was three.
The UN humanitarian agency, OCHA, has warned that 1.7 million people are at risk and that the remnants of the cyclone could also bring “significant rainfall” to Malawi until Monday.