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French the president Emmanuel Macron will then travel to Mayotte Cyclone Chido tore through the island with ferocious force, leaving potentially hundreds, if not thousands, dead, with survivors comparing the aftermath to a nuclear bomb explosion.
A cyclone, probably intensified by the climate crisis, hit French territory at the end of last week. The island endured the full force of the storm, one of the strongest ever to hit a French overseas territory, as it brought winds exceeding 200 km/h (124 mph), tearing apart houses, leveling entire neighborhoods and cutting power and communication lines.
Mayotte, one of the poorest regions under French administration of about 300,000 people, is located in Mozambique Channel of the Indian Ocean.
Aerial footage shows entire neighborhoods reduced to rubble, trees uprooted and critical infrastructure ripped apart. Mamoudzou, the island’s capital and one of the most densely populated areas, is now unrecognizable, with many streets littered with debris and houses reduced to twisted metal and splintered wood.
“Honestly, what we are experiencing is a tragedy,” Mohamed Ishmael, a Mamoudzou resident who witnessed the destruction firsthand, told Reuters. “You feel like you’re in the aftermath of a nuclear war. I saw an entire neighborhood disappear within hours.”
The French president said he had gathered key government officials for an emergency meeting at the interior ministry’s crisis center to discuss an action plan for the devastated island.
In a post on the X social media platform, Macron said all emergency measures would be deployed to help the residents of Mayotte to ensure the continuity of state functions.
He added that he would also declare national mourning for this tragedy and visit the island soon.
“Our thoughts are with our compatriots who have suffered unimaginable suffering,” Macron told reporters. “The government will mobilize all resources to help the island recover, rebuild and heal.”
Already, 1,600 police and emergency personnel have been deployed to help with rescue and recovery operations, with an additional 800 responders expected in the coming days. However, the rescue mission is facing delays due to logistical difficulties after Mayotte’s only airport suffered damage to its control tower, allowing all but military aircraft to fly, complicating response and relief efforts.
French navy ships carrying essential supplies, including water, food, generators and medical equipment, were en route to Mayotte on Tuesday as officials raced to respond to urgent humanitarian needs.
Officials on the ground described the impact of Cyclone Chido as unprecedented in Mayotte’s modern history. François-Xavier Bieuville, the prefect of Mayotte, said efforts to determine the full extent of the damage were hampered by blocked roads and disrupted communications networks. “Whole communities have been cut off,” he said. “The destruction is so great that it will take days, if not weeks, to fully understand what happened here.”
The human toll from the storm remains uncertain. Thousands of people are missing, and while initial reports have confirmed dozens of dead, officials fear the number could rise dramatically, with hundreds, perhaps thousands, still missing.
Rescue operations are further complicated by the terrain and the dense population of Mayotte, especially in informal settlements.
“As for the toll, it will be complicated, because Mayotte is a Muslim country where the dead are buried within 24 hours,” a French interior ministry official said earlier.
The survivors now struggle with the harsh reality of life after the cyclone. Makeshift shelters have sprung up where houses used to be, and clean water, food and electricity are still scarce. Humanitarian organizations on the ground warn of the worsening of the humanitarian crisis if emergency aid does not arrive.
Chido last week strengthened into an incredibly powerful cyclone, equivalent to a Category 4 hurricane, and hit Mayotte on Saturday. It affected surrounding nations in southeast Africa, bringing heavy rainfall and damaging homes in Madagascar, Mozambique and the Comoros Islands before weakening, killing at least three people.
Scientists warn that cyclones are becoming more powerful due to the climate crisis and ocean warming, which fuels storms. The Indian Ocean, where Mayotte is located, is warming faster than many other regions, providing ideal conditions for cyclones to intensify.
“Cyclone Chido underwent a rapid intensification before making landfall in Mauritius, weakened slightly and then regained its Category 4 equivalent intensity before reaching Mayotte and continuing towards Mozambique,” said Dr Alex Baker, meteorologist from the University of Reading.
“The kinds of conditions that lead to rapid intensification have become more prevalent over recent decades,” he said, adding that more studies will be needed to understand the impact.
Mayotte was already struggling with significant social and economic challenges before the cyclone hit. Overcrowding, poverty and unregulated urban development have made the island particularly vulnerable to natural disasters. Informal settlements, built hastily and without proper infrastructure, were among the hardest hit by Chido’s wrath.
For the thousands of undocumented migrants living on the island, the situation is particularly dire. Displaced families are now overflowing with temporary shelters, and aid workers fear that poor sanitation and a lack of clean water could cause disease outbreaks.