Desolate scene on Mayotte island after Typhoon Chido made landfall
On December 16, AFP quoted a senior official on the French island of Mayotte as saying that hundreds, even thousands, of people may have died after Typhoon Chido swept across the island, in the context of France rushing to mobilize forces. rescue.
Their efforts are expected to be hampered by damage to airports and power supply systems in the French Indian Ocean territory. Even before the storm passed, the island was facing a chronic lack of clean drinking water.
“I think there will definitely be hundreds, perhaps that number will be close to a thousand or even a few thousand” deaths, according to Governor Francois-Xavier Bieuville in Mayotte province.
Mr. Bieuville added that it would be “very difficult to give a final figure” because most people are Muslim, so they usually bury their dead within 24 hours.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pledged support from the alliance. “We would like to send our deep condolences to France after storm Chido devastated Mayotte. We are ready to support in the coming days,” she wrote on social network X.
World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also offered support, saying WHO “stands ready to support communities in need of essential health care services”.
Many islanders lost their homes due to the storm
French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said the storm wiped out temporary housing in the slums of this archipelago on the evening of December 14. About 320,000 residents in Mayotte were ordered to blockade on the same day, when storm Chido made landfall in the archipelago about 500 km east of Mozambique, with wind gusts of at least 226 km/h.
Electricity poles were knocked to the ground, trees were uprooted and roofs and corrugated iron walls were ripped from the slums, home to at least a third of the population.
A local resident named Ibrahim described “apocalyptic scenes” after the storm devastated the island. Governor Retailleau will arrive in Mayotte today, December 16, with 160 soldiers and firefighters to reinforce the 110 people already deployed to the archipelago.
Pope Francis, when visiting the French Mediterranean island of Corsica on December 15, called on everyone to pray for the residents of Mayotte. French President Emmanuel Macron pledged to take action to help people there.
Storm Chido made landfall in Mozambique early on the morning of December 15, about 40 km from the northern city of Pemba, killing at least 3 people. UNICEF said it was in Mozambique to help people affected by the storm.
