The “exceptional” tropical cyclone Chido brought devastation to Mayotte, France’s poorest department, located in the Indian Ocean, on Saturday, December 14. Much of the precarious housing was completely destroyed, according to a still provisional assessment, communicated on Sunday morning to Agence France-Presse (AFP) by a source in the security services. The alert level was lowered from violet to red during the day, to allow rescue teams to get out, but the prefect called on Mayotte’s 320,000 inhabitants to remain “locked down” and “united” in “this ordeal.” Communications with the territory remain very difficult.
With gusts in excess of 220 km/h, Cyclone Chido was the most intense to hit Mayotte in over 90 years, according to Météo-France. Extremely violent winds ravaged the archipelago, knocking down electricity poles, uprooting trees and blowing off roofs and metal partitions, in a territory where at least a third of the population lives in precarious housing conditions.
Outgoing interior minister Bruno Retailleau said on Saturday evening after an interministerial crisis meeting that it would “probably take days” to “clarify” the human toll.
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