Due to the recent natural disaster that struck the Mayotte region, the images of destruction and desolation left by Cyclone Chido in 2022 continue to haunt the inhabitants of the island. The consequences of this tragedy are of a scale still unimaginable, leaving behind a devastated landscape and shattered lives.
In the aftermath of Chido’s devastating passage, rescue teams and local authorities are desperately trying to cope with the scale of the damage. The Mayotte prefecture announced that the human toll was “several hundred dead” and could even reach a thousand or more. A tragedy of such violence had not been seen for decades in the region, leaving many neighborhoods destroyed, public infrastructure damaged and depriving the population of electricity.
The prefect of Mayotte, François-Xavier Bieuville, stressed the difficulty of establishing an accurate death toll, particularly in the precarious neighborhoods where a large part of the population is concentrated. Testimonies and images from the field suggest a situation that is much more dramatic than what the official figures suggest.
The French authorities have mobilized urgently to provide relief to Mayotte, the poorest department in France and the European Union. Rescue teams, medical supplies and food have been sent to the island to help the victims. President Emmanuel Macron has expressed his solidarity with the inhabitants of Mayotte, while the Minister of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau, is preparing to go there to coordinate relief operations.
Faced with such a disaster, the absolute priority is now to restore electricity and access to drinking water for the affected population. National and international solidarity is being organized to provide assistance to the victims of Cyclone Chido and try to alleviate the suffering of those affected.
The international community stands by Mayotte in this dark and difficult time. It is imperative that emergency measures and concrete actions be taken to rebuild what has been destroyed, support grieving families and accompany the population on the long road to reconstruction.
Cyclone Chido will remain etched in the memory of the people of Mayotte as a time of tragedy and desolation, but also as a time when solidarity and mutual aid made it possible to overcome adversity together. Let us hope that such trials remind us of the importance of preparation and solidarity in the face of natural disasters that can strike at any time.