Several hundred, possibly thousands, may have died in the Mayotte cyclone, the local French prefect told Reuters

Author: Michel Rose

PARIS (Reuters) – Several hundred people, possibly even thousands, may have been killed by Cyclone Chido in the French Indian Ocean archipelago of Mayotte, a senior local French official said on local Mayotte media channel La 1ere on Sunday.

“I think there will certainly be a few hundred, maybe we’ll reach a thousand, even a few thousand,” local prefect Francois-Xavier Bievil told the channel.

Asked about the death toll in the several hundred, the French interior ministry said it would be “difficult to list all the victims” and said the figure could not be determined at this stage.

Cyclone Chido passed through Mayotte overnight, Meteo-France said, bringing winds of more than 200 km/h (124 mph) and damaging makeshift housing, government buildings and a hospital. It was the strongest storm to hit the islands in more than 90 years, the forecaster said.

It was difficult to determine the exact death toll after the cyclone, which also raised concerns about access to food, water and sanitation, authorities said.

“As for the toll, it will be complicated because Mayotte is a Muslim country where the dead are buried within 24 hours,” a French interior ministry official said earlier.

Located nearly 8,000 km (5,000 miles) from Paris and a four-day sea journey, Mayotte is significantly poorer than the rest of France and has struggled with gang violence and social unrest for decades.

Tensions were fueled earlier this year by water shortages.