Hundreds are feared dead and schools, hospitals and office buildings are in ruins in Mamoudzou, the capital of the French territory
This satellite image released by Maxar Technologies shows damage at the Dzaoudzi Port on the French Territory of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean after Cyclone Chido, on 16 December 2024.This satellite image released by Maxar Technologies shows damage at the Dzaoudzi Port on the French Territory of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean after Cyclone Chido, on 16 December 2024.
In Mamoudzou, the capital, destruction was widespread, with schools, hospitals, restaurants and offices in ruins. Roofs were ripped from homes, and palm trees were half-shorn from winds that exceeded 220 kph , according to the French weather service. As of Monday evening, the ministry confirmed 21 deaths at hospitals, with 45 people in critical condition. But French health minister Geneviève Darrieussecq warned that any estimates were likely major undercounts “compared to the scale of the disaster.”Electricity was down across the archipelago, with only the capital spared. Telecommunications were severely disrupted, with most antennas knocked out of service. Authorities were concerned about a shortage of drinking water.
“There’s no water, no electricity. Hunger is starting to rise. It’s urgent that aid arrives, especially when you see children, babies, to whom we have nothing concrete to offer,” Mayotte senator Salama Ramia told BFM-TV.Chido was a category 4 cyclone, the second-strongest on the scale, and the worst to hit Mayotte since the 1930s, François-Xavier Bieuville, the top French government official in the island group, told Mayotte la 1ère.
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