Mayotte cyclone videos show ‘century's worst storm’, France immigrants say felt like ‘aftermath of nuclear war’
As several hundred people and possibly even thousands may have been killed when the most powerful cyclone in nearly a century hit the French Indian Ocean archipelago of Mayotte, videos of the extent of physical damage started getting viral on social media.
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"I think there will certainly be several hundreds, maybe we will reach a thousand, even several thousands," prefect Francois-Xavier Bieuville said on local media channel Mayotte La 1ere.
Video footages showed the wreckage of hundreds of makeshift houses strewn across the hills in the islands
Local media images showed a mother pushing a newborn baby's crib along the flooded corridor of Mayotte's hospital.
😨 Situation effroyable à l'hôpital de #Mayotte, totalement inondé après le passage du cyclone #Chido.
Soignants, patients et même une femme avec bébé dans les bras marchent dans des couloirs dévastés au sol immergé.
Un hôpital de campagne va être installé. @mayottela1ere
1/2 pic.twitter.com/QRZz95f15i
— Nicolas Berrod (@nicolasberrod) December 15, 2024
Quelle tristesse! Ce n’est pas comme si nous n’avions alerté tant de fois et encore récemment en juin lors de la commission d’enquête de @AssembleeNat que je présidais. Nous avons besoin de secours sous le sceau de l’urgence et rétablir l’électricité à l’hôpital #Mayotte #Chido pic.twitter.com/A2an4itKSD
— Mansour KAMARDINE - Officiel (@Kamardine_M) December 14, 2024
Boats on the onshore lay while coconut trees uprooted and crashed through the roofs of many buildings.
In the last few decades thousands of people have attempted to make the crossing from Comoros, off the coast of East Africa, to Mayotte, which has a higher standard of living and access to the French welfare system.
The small French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte has been absolutely devastated by Category 4 Cyclone Chido, with entire neighborhoods flattened and hundreds feared dead.
The island was battered by extreme winds over 136 mph (220 km/h). pic.twitter.com/g5lcMfVwBQ
— Colin McCarthy (@US_Stormwatch) December 15, 2024
Les bidonvilles de #Mayotte ont été rasés, leurs habitants engloutis par la boue et les tôles. Les 3/4 des maisons en dur n'ont #PlusDeToit. Pas d'#eau, pas de #nourriture, pas d'#électricité et des #pillages. Nos besoins: #ÉtatDUrgence + #Armée + #Médecins + #Aide massive pic.twitter.com/vDtHWgSvCG
— Estelle Youssouffa Députée (@DeputeeEstelle) December 15, 2024
Over 1,00,000 undocumented migrants live in Mayotte, according to the French interior ministry.
Cyclone Chido hit Mayotte overnight, Meteo-France said, with winds of more than 200 kph (124 mph), damaging housing, government buildings and a hospital.
As per forecaster, it was the strongest storm in more than 90 years to hit the islands.
"Honestly, what we are experiencing is a tragedy, you feel like you are in the aftermath of a nuclear war… I saw an entire neighborhood disappear," Mohamed Ishmael, a resident of Mayotte's capital Mamoudzou, told Reuters by phone.
Located nearly 8,000 km (5,000 miles) from Paris, Mayotte is a major destination for undocumented immigrants from nearby Comoros. It is significantly poorer than the rest of France and has grappled with gang violence and social unrest for decades.
France colonised Mayotte in 1843 and annexed the four large islands of the Comoros archipelago in 1904. The rest of the archipelago voted for independence in a 1974 referendum, but Mayotte decided to remain under French control.
With inputs from Reuters
