Macron visits Mayotte as thousands remain missing after storm

Upon landing on Petite-Terre, Mayotte’s smallest island, the level of destruction caused by Cyclone Chido is immediately evident.

It’s hard to overstate how completely devastated the landscape is in this French Indian Ocean territory, which was left completely devastated when the storm swept across the islands on Saturday.

The hills that were once covered with coconut trees now appear barren and black. The leaves have been torn off the trees and their trunks are horizontal.

The airport signal tower has been destroyed by 220 kilometer winds.

Even the nearest airport hotel, a solid structure and one of the few places with working Wi-Fi and electricity on the island, has a badly damaged roof and broken windows.

According to French officials, at least 31 people have died, but thousands remain missing and there are fears the death toll could rise dramatically.

A state of exceptional natural disaster has been declared for the territory, which is one of the poorest areas in France, with many residents living in slums.

Similar scenes of devastation on Grande-Terre, another main island of Mayotte, greeted French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday morning as he arrived with four tonnes of food and health aid.

But while surveying the damage, some say the level of destruction here is a direct result of their insufficient investment in the island.

With its government currently in disarray and a fierce debate over migration in France, Mayotte finds itself at the center of a political storm as well as a physical one.

The thousands of illegal immigrants on the island have long been an enigma for the French government, and now some in France argue that providing too much aid to the territory would encourage more immigrants to arrive.

Meanwhile, residents of France’s poorest department continue to wait for food, water and shelter.

Upon landing, a heavy downpour fell, filling the buildings whose roofs had been torn off with water.

It is just an example of some of the difficulties that the inhabitants of Mayotte have been experiencing for almost a week.

The state of emergency declared for Mayotte is intended for the French overseas territories to make it possible to overcome administrative barriers and confront the crisis more quickly and effectively.

It has been activated for one month, but can be extended for periods of two months if necessary.

“In this exceptional situation, it is necessary to deploy exceptional resources to quickly restore vital services and implement a sustainable reconstruction plan for Mayotte,” said the minister responsible for overseas territories, François-Noël Buffet.

Emergency services have been delivering food and water and clearing roads, while also racing to find the missing.

Health workers fear infectious diseases could spread as residents have reported shortages of drinking water and stores are rationing supplies.

Authorities have said their priority is to get damaged aquatic plants back into operation.

Half of the territory is still without electricity. A new curfew imposed requires people to stay in their homes for six hours overnight to prevent looting.

Desire – the worst storm to hit the archipelago in 90 years – brought winds of more than 225 km/h (140 mph) on Saturday, flattening areas where people live in shacks with sheet metal roofs and leaving behind fields of dirt and debris.

After Mayotte, the storm hit the African continent, killing at least 45 people in Mozambique and 13 in Malawi.