By Nur Asena Erturk
Local authorities in France’s overseas island Mayotte are fearing that Cyclone Chido might leave nearly a thousand dead.
Mayotte Prefect Francois-Xavier Bieuville told broadcaster Mayotte La 1ere that there might be several hundreds of deaths, “maybe we would approach a thousand.”
He stressed that the counting of the human toll was difficult.
The powerful storm, which struck the Indian Ocean island on Saturday, brought torrential rains and winds exceeding 200 kilometers per hour (124 miles per hour), according to police.
Entire neighborhoods have been flattened, particularly in informal settlements, and key infrastructure has sustained significant damage.
After the red alert was lifted, rescuers rushed to devastated areas to save possible survivors and recover bodies, but some areas still remain inaccessible, according to French broadcaster BFMTV.
President Emmanuel Macron will convene a crisis meeting at the Interior Ministry on Monday evening to dsicuss the situation in the country’s poorest region.
Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on X on Sunday that an aerial bridge was established between Mayotte and France’s other overseas territory in the same region, the Reunion Island, located in the east of Madagascar.
Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau is expected in Mayotte later in the day.