Cyclone Chido devastates France’s Mayotte with ‘close to a thousand’ feared dead

Mayotte, a French archipelago located in the Indian Ocean, is reeling from the catastrophic effects of Cyclone Chido, a Category 4 storm that slammed the islands on Saturday. The cyclone, with winds exceeding 220 kilometers per hour (136 miles per hour), left a trail of devastation, flattening entire neighborhoods, destroying infrastructure, and leaving residents grappling with the aftermath. Early reports suggest that the death toll may climb into the hundreds or even thousands.

Bruno Garcia, owner of Hotel Caribou in Mayotte’s capital, Mamoudzou, described the destruction as “catastrophic” and compared it to the aftermath of an atomic bomb. “We lost everything. The entire hotel is completely destroyed,” he said in an interview with CNN affiliate BFMTV. “There is nothing left. It’s as if an atomic bomb fell on Mayotte.”

Cyclone Chido, the most powerful storm to hit the region in over 90 years, also battered northern Madagascar before intensifying and making landfall on Mayotte. The storm caused widespread damage to homes, infrastructure, and public services. The storm’s violent winds knocked out power grids, crushed hospitals and schools, and caused extensive damage to the airport’s control tower. The devastation was especially severe in neighborhoods made up of metal shacks and informal housing, which were particularly vulnerable to the storm’s force.

Local authorities have confirmed at least 11 fatalities, but officials fear the actual death toll could be much higher. Mayotte Prefect François-Xavier Bieuville suggested that the number of casualties could be in the hundreds or even approach a thousand. “I think there are several hundred dead, maybe even close to a thousand,” Bieuville told TV station Mayotte la 1ère. “This figure is not plausible when you see the images of the slums.”

Residents of Mamoudzou described the situation as “apocalyptic” and compared it to the aftermath of a nuclear disaster. “Honestly, what we are experiencing is a tragedy, you feel like you are in the aftermath of a nuclear war,” said Mohamed Ishmael, a local resident. “I saw an entire neighborhood disappear.”

The French government is mobilizing aid, but the extent of the damage and the difficulty of accessing affected areas are complicating relief efforts. The full scale of the destruction remains unclear as emergency responders work to assess the damage and provide assistance to those in need. As the storm weakens, Mayotte faces a long and difficult recovery process.