Several hundred people feared dead after Cyclone Chido

The inhabitants of Mayotte speak of “apocalyptic scenes” caused by the worst storm in 90 years that hits the French territory of the Indian Ocean.

Cyclone Chido produced winds of more than 225 km/h (140 mph), devastating areas where the poorest lived in shacks with metal roofs.

“We have been without water for three days,” said a resident of the capital, Mamoudzou. “Some of my neighbors are hungry and thirsty,” said another.

Rescue teams, including reinforcements from France, are sifting through the rubble for survivors. Twenty people have been confirmed dead, but the local prefect said it could be thousands.

Authorities said they were having difficulty establishing the number of deaths because of the large number of undocumented immigrants – more than 100,000 – in a population of 320,000.

Widespread damage to infrastructure – with downed power lines and impassable roads – is severely hampering emergency operations.

Supplies have begun to arrive, but in certain areas there are serious shortages of food, water and shelter. Around 85% of the territory remains without electricity and around 20% of telephones appear to be working. Some areas are starting to receive tap water.

“The images are apocalyptic. It’s a disaster, there’s nothing left,” a nurse working at Mamoudzou’s main hospital told BFM TV.

Mamoudzou resident John Balloz said he was surprised he did not die when the cyclone hit.

“Everything is damaged, almost everything, the water treatment plant, the electrical towers, there is a lot to do.”

Mohamed Ishmael, who also lives in the capital, He told the Reuters news agency: “You feel like you are after a nuclear war… I saw an entire neighborhood disappear.”

“It’s hunger that worries me the most,” Mayotte senator Salama Ramia told French media. “There are people who have not eaten or drunk” since Saturday, he said.

Francois-Xavier Bieuville, the island’s prefect, told local media that the death toll could rise significantly once the damage is fully assessed. He warned that “it would definitely be several hundred” and could reach thousands.

Mayotte’s impoverished communities, including undocumented migrants who have traveled to French territory in an attempt to seek asylum, are believed to have been particularly affected due to the vulnerable nature of their housing.

The Muslim tradition of burying the dead within 24 hours also makes it more difficult to document the number of those killed, the prefect said.

In addition to the aid, 110 French soldiers have arrived to assist in the rescue and another 160 are on the way. Another 800 volunteers who help during emergencies were also sent to join local police units.

After arriving in Mayotte, French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said it would take “days and days” to determine the human loss.

The relief operation is coordinated from Réunion, another French overseas territory.

French Red Cross spokesman Eric Sam Vah told the BBC the situation was “chaotic”.

He said the organization had only been able to reach 20 of the 200 Red Cross volunteers in Mayotte and echoed fears about the total number of deaths.

“All of the slums have been completely destroyed, we have not received any reports of displaced people, so the reality could be dire in the coming days,” the spokesperson told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

France colonized Mayotte in 1841. – and at the beginning of the 20th century it added the three main islands that make up the Comoros archipelago to its overseas territories.

The Comoros voted for independence in 1974, but Mayotte decided to remain part of France.

The island’s population relies heavily on French financial aid and has long struggled with poverty, unemployment and political instability.

Around 75% of the population lives below the national poverty line and unemployment is around one in three.

Cyclone Chido also made landfall in Mozambique, where it caused flash flooding, uprooted trees and damaged buildings about 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of the northern city of Pemba. Three deaths have been reported.

The cyclone caused structural damage and power outages in the northern coastal provinces of Nampula and Cabo Delgado on Saturday morning, local authorities said.

Guy Taylor, spokesman for the Unicef ​​aid agency in Mozambique, said: “We were hit hard in the early hours of this morning.”

“Many houses were destroyed or severely damaged, and health centers and schools are out of service,” he added.

Taylor said Unicef ​​was concerned about the “loss of access to critical services”, including medical treatment, clean water and sanitation, and also “the spread of diseases such as cholera and malaria”.

Chido is the latest deadly storm of such high intensity to form.

It became stronger as a result of its long journey over the ocean, says Sarah Keith-Lucas of the BBC Meteorological Centre. The cyclone would have weakened if it had made landfall in the rugged terrain of Madagascar.

But it’s also true that climate change has an impact, not necessarily on the frequency of storms, but on their strength, says Keith-Lucas.

The storm has now been downgraded to a “depression” and is expected to cross southern Malawi and then Tete province in Mozambique, before heading towards Zimbabwe overnight on Tuesday.

Between 150 and 300 mm of rain is still possible by the end of Tuesday.