France’s interior minister, Bruno Retailleau, has told emergency workers during a meeting not to panic following the worst cyclone to hit Mayotte for 90 years, which has devastated the Indian Ocean territory’s health services. Rescuers are racing to reach survivors after Cyclone Chido laid waste many shantytowns, with hundreds believed dead. The cyclone also damaged Mayotte’s airport, cutting off electricity and water on Saturday. The territory’s prefect, François-Xavier Bieuville, told a local broadcaster that he expected the number dead would reach ‘close to a thousand or even several thousand’
Mayotte: drone footage shows cyclone damage as French official tells rescuers not to panic – video
