Cyclone Chido kills 'several hundred' in French Mayotte after mega Category 4 136mph storm
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It’s been revealed that the death toll in the French territory of Mayotte from Cyclone Chido is “several hundred” and may be close to 1,000, according to the island’s top government official . While speaking to TV station Mayotte la 1ere, Mayotte Prefect François-Xavier Bieuville said: “I think there are some several hundred dead, maybe we’ll get close to a thousand. Even thousands. Given the violence of this event.".
While he was able to estimate that the death toll could be in the thousands, he added that it would be ‘extremely difficult’ to get an exact number following the intense tropical cyclone the Indian Ocean island faced on Saturday, which caused widespread destruction.
On Sunday morning, the French Interior Ministry was able to confirm that there had been 11 confirmed deaths and more than 250 injuries, but added that those numbers were expected to rise substantially. Mayotte, which is located in the southeastern Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa, is France’s poorest island and the poorest territory in the European Union. Bieuville revealed that the worst damage had been seen in the slums of metal shacks and informal structures that mark much of the island.
Talking about the current death toll, he said: "This figure is not plausible when you see the images of the slums." So despite the official death toll, Bieuville is certain that the numbers are set to increase. Storm Chido pummeled the southeastern Indian Ocean on Friday and Saturday, while also battering the nearby islands of Comoros and Madagascar. The tropical storm has now made landfall in Mozambique on the African mainland.
