In the Indian Ocean, Cyclone Chido has made landfall in the French territory of Mayotte, causing widespread damage and killing several people, authorities said. The storm’s devastating path is now heading toward the east coast of Africa, raising serious concerns.
According to French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, a provisional toll indicates that at least “a few people” have died. However, he is cautious about confirming the precise figures, as rescue teams have not yet been able to fully assess the situation on the ground.
“We fear a high toll, but for now I cannot provide any figures,” Retailleau said during an emergency meeting at the Interior Ministry in Paris. “The island seems to have been devastated.”
Cyclone Chido’s strong winds, reaching more than 220 km/h according to the French weather service, tore tin roofs off homes in Mayotte, a territory of more than 300,000 people spread across two main islands about 800 kilometres off the coast of Mozambique.
New French Prime Minister François Bayrou said public infrastructure, including the prefecture, hospital and airport, had been “seriously damaged or destroyed”. He highlighted the serious risks faced by many people living in precarious housing in shanty town areas.
French President Emmanuel Macron said he was closely monitoring the situation.
“Our island has been hit by the most violent and destructive cyclone since 1934. Many of us have lost everything,” Mayotte Prefect François-Xavier Bieuville said in a Facebook post on Saturday. He announced the lifting of the maximum alert to allow rescuers to intervene after the cyclone’s most intense passage.
The French Interior Ministry has deployed 1,600 police officers and gendarmes to “help the population and prevent possible looting”.
About 110 rescuers and firefighters sent to Mayotte from France and the neighboring territory of Réunion have been mobilized, and an additional reinforcement of 140 people will be sent on Sunday.
Mayotte, the poorest of the French islands, has already struggled with drought and underinvestment.
French Transport Minister François Durovray said Mayotte’s airport had been “seriously damaged, in particular the control tower”, in a message on X. He said the island’s infrastructure had been heavily impacted and that air traffic would initially be reopened only to military aircraft. Ships are being used to transport supplies.
Mayotte is still on red alert for the ordinary population and residents have been asked to “remain confined in a solid shelter”, said Prefect Bieuville. Only emergency and security services are allowed out.
Local television channel Mayotte la 1ère reported that thousands of homes were without power, tin shacks and other lightweight structures were swept away, and many trees were uprooted.
Comoros also hit as storm approaches African continent
The Comoros, an archipelago north of Mayotte, was also hit by Chido, and a maximum alert has been declared in some areas. Authorities are concerned about a group of 11 fishermen who went to sea on Monday and have not been heard from.
Comorian authorities ordered all vessels to remain anchored in ports and closed the main airport and government offices. Schools were closed Friday to allow residents to prepare for the storm.
Chido is expected to continue eastward and hit Mozambique on the African continent late Saturday or early Sunday, forecasters said. Mozambique’s disaster agency has warned that 2.5 million people could be affected in the northern provinces of Cabo Delgado and Nampula.
Further inland, Malawi and Zimbabwe are also preparing. Malawi’s Department of Disaster Management Affairs said it expected flooding in some areas and urged some people to move to higher ground. In Zimbabwe, authorities said some people should prepare to be evacuated.
December to March is cyclone season in the southeastern Indian Ocean, and southern Africa has been hit hard by a series of severe storms in recent years.
Cyclone Idai in 2019 killed more than 1,300 people in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe. Cyclone Freddy killed more than 1,000 people in several countries last year.
Cyclones bring the risk of flooding and landslides, but also stagnant waters can then trigger deadly outbreaks of cholera — as happened after Idai — as well as dengue fever and malaria.
Studies show that cyclones are intensifying because of climate change. They are placing poor countries in southern Africa, which contribute very little to climate change, in the face of major humanitarian crises.