The French president declares a period of mourning after the passage of the cyclone in Mayotte and will go there

MAMOUDZOU, Mayotte (AP) — France used military ships and planes to deliver rescuers and supplies to Mayotte on Monday after the small French island territory off Africa was hit by its worst cyclone in nearly ‘a century. Authorities fear hundreds, if not thousands, of people may have died.

Survivors wandered through debris-strewn streets, searching for water and shelter after Cyclone Chido leveled entire neighborhoods on Saturday when it hit Mayotte, France’s poorest territory and, by extension of the European Union.

“Chaos” is how resident Fahar Abdoulhamidi described the consequences. In Mamoudzou, the capital, the destruction was total: schools, hospitals, restaurants and offices were in ruins.

“Mayotte is totally devastated,” said French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau.

Hillside villages were reduced to broken trees and piles of corrugated iron by winds of more than 220 km/h (136 mph), according to the French weather service.

Electricity went out across the entire archipelago, with only the capital spared. Telecommunications were severely disrupted, with most antennas out of service. The authorities were concerned about the lack of drinking water.

The French Red Cross described the damage as “unimaginable” and said it was impossible to give an exact number of victims as rescuers were still searching for bodies. The damage, particularly at Mayotte’s only airport, made certain areas inaccessible to emergency teams.

Many people ignored cyclone warnings in the 24 hours before the storm began, underestimating its power.

“No one thought it would be this big,” Abdoulhamidi told The Associated Press by telephone. “Those living in Bangas stayed despite the cyclone, fearing their homes would be looted,” he said, referring to the island’s informal settlements.

Worse still, many migrants avoid shelters for fear of deportation, Abdoulhamidi said.

Mayotte is a densely populated archipelago between Madagascar and the African continent with more than 320,000 inhabitants, according to the French government. Most are Muslims. And French authorities estimate that there are 100,000 additional migrants coming from as far away as Somalia.

The official death toll was 20, according to television channel Mayotte la 1ère, but French Health Minister Geneviève Darrieussecq warned that any estimate was probably largely underestimated “in relation to the scale of the disaster.” .

“There is no water or electricity. Hunger begins to increase. It is urgent that help arrives, especially when we see children, babies, to whom we have nothing concrete to offer,” declared Mayotte senator Salama Ramia on BFM-TV.

Chido was a Category 4 cyclone, the second most powerful on the scale and the worst to hit Mayotte since the 1930s, said Mayotte la 1ère prefect François-Xavier Bieuville, the most senior French government official in the group of islands.

Bieuville said Sunday that the death toll was several hundred people and could even be in the thousands. But he added that counting deaths would be extremely difficult and many may never be recorded, in part because of the Muslim tradition of burying people within 24 hours.

Rescue teams and equipment were sent from France and Reunion. Daily airlifts deliver 20 tons of water and food to meet urgent needs, Retailleau said.

Mayotte airport remained closed to civilian flights after its control tower was heavily damaged and is not expected to reopen until at least Thursday, authorities said. French authorities said more than 800 additional people were expected in the coming days.

The main hospital in Mayotte suffered significant water damage to the surgery, intensive care, emergency and maternity departments, according to Darrieussecq, the Minister of Health. Retailleau said a field hospital would arrive Thursday.

And the French Interior Ministry said 1,600 police and gendarmes were deployed shortly after the cyclone to “help the population and prevent possible looting.”

Residents of Mayotte have previously said their archipelago is suffering from underinvestment and neglect by the French government. According to INSEE, around three quarters of the population live in poverty, with a median annual disposable income around one eighth of that of the Paris metropolis.

The territory has also faced political unrest and growing support for the far-right National Rally party, reflecting deep dissatisfaction with the political status quo. Last year, the French military took steps to quell protests after a drought and mismanagement led to water shortages.

After hitting Mayotte, Cyclone Chido continued westward and made landfall on Sunday in Mozambique, where it killed three people, injured 34 others and destroyed classrooms in four schools. In neighboring Malawi, Chido killed two people.

December to March is cyclone season in the southwest Indian Ocean, and southern Africa has been hit hard in recent years. In 2019, Cyclone Idai killed more than 1,300 people, mainly in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe. Cyclone Freddy killed more than 1,000 people last year in several countries in the Indian Ocean and southern Africa.

The European Parliament observed a minute of silence for Chido’s victims on Monday, with chamber president Roberta Metsola saying: “Mayotte is Europe, and Europe will not abandon you.”

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Adamson reported from Paris. Imray reported from Cape Town, South Africa. Associated Press writers Tom Nouvian in Paris and Monika Pronczuk in Dakar, Senegal, contributed to this report.

Gerald Imray, Thomas Adamson and Rainat Aliloiffa, Associated Press