SAINT-DENIS, Reunion (news agencies) — An overnight curfew goes into force Tuesday evening as authorities try to stabilize Mayotte in the aftermath of Cyclone Chido, the most intense storm to hit the French Indian Ocean archipelago in 90 years.
The French military said it is sending four to five planes a day with up to 50 tons of assistance, including food, water and medicine. Hundreds of military personnel have arrived in Mayotte since the weekend.
The official death toll from Saturday’s cyclone rose to 22, with more than 1,400 people injured including 48 critically, according to the latest report from Mayotte Hospital quoted by Ambdilwahedou Soumaila, the mayor of the capital, Mamoudzou.
However, authorities fear hundreds and possibly thousands of people have died.
“The priority today is water and food,” Soumaila told RFI radio, adding that “there are people who have unfortunately died where the bodies are starting to decompose that can create a sanitary problem.
The curfew requires people to stay in their homes between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. each night as authorities try to prevent looting of damaged buildings.
“We don’t have electricity. When night falls, there are people who take advantage of that situation,” Soumaila said.
Speaking on France Inter radio Tuesday morning, Mayotte lawmaker Estelle Youssouffa described the challenges in accounting for victims, especially among undocumented migrants.
“The real toll of those swept away by the mud, winds and tin from shanty towns will never be known,” Youssouffa said. “This population, by definition undocumented migrants, are the main victims of this tragedy because they feared going to shelters.”
Youssouffa shared a harrowing account from an imam she spoke to on Monday, who reported burying more than 30 people in a single day in La Vigie, a makeshift settlement.
“I don’t even know if these figures are included in the official count,” Youssouffa said.
Soumaila, Mamoudzou’s mayor, said he planned to visit areas hit hardest by the cyclone on Tuesday, where survivors are still reeling from the destruction. Nearly 70% of Mayotte’s population has been gravely affected, with entire neighborhoods reduced to rubble.
Aid efforts continue, with French military aircraft delivering water and food daily. However, power outages and communication disruptions persist, leaving many without basic necessities. The island’s main hospital remains severely damaged, and a field hospital is expected to arrive Thursday.
French President Emmanuel Macron has pledged to visit Mayotte soon and to declare a national mourning period. Meanwhile, an initial 655,000 euros ($687,000) was released by a government decree to finance urgent needs on the island.
Cyclone Chido is the deadliest storm to strike the territory in nearly a century, underscoring the vulnerability of the island’s impoverished population.
The hurricane is also threatening to deepen the political crisis on the French mainland. Less than a week after taking office, newly appointed Prime Minister François Bayrou has come under heavy criticism from across the political spectrum for his perceived mishandling of the emergency.
Bayrou did not travel to Mayotte and did not attend in person a crisis meeting, opting instead to chair a town hall meeting in the city of Pau, where he is the mayor. Bayrou took part in the crisis meeting via video.
Bayrou responded that the interior minister was in Mayotte and that the two were taking decisions together. He insisted he is busy trying to form a government. Bayrou was appointed prime minister by Macron last week after a historic parliamentary vote toppled the previous government.
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Nouvian reported from Paris.
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