Authorities in Mayotte were racing on Tuesday to get food and water to residents stricken by the weekend’s devastating cyclone and fighting to stop hunger, disease and lawlessness spreading in the French overseas territory, officials said.
Hundreds or even thousands could be dead in the wreckage of Cyclone Chido, they said. The storm laid waste to large parts of the archipelago off east Africa, which is France’s poorest overseas territory.
With many areas still inaccessible it could take days to determine the full extent of damage and deaths. So far, 22 deaths and more than 1,400 injuries have been confirmed, Ambdilwahedou Soumaila, the mayor of the capital Mamoudzou, told Radio France Internationale on Tuesday morning.
“The priority today [Tuesday] is water and food,” Soumaila said. “There are people who have died where the bodies are starting to decompose that can create a sanitary problem.
“We don’t have electricity. When night falls, there are people who take advantage of that situation.”