Hundreds of people are feared dead in the French department of Mayotte due to Cyclone Chido, a senior official said

A senior government official on the French island of Mayotte told local radio on Sunday that the death toll in the French province of Mayotte due to Hurricane Chido has reached “several hundreds” and may reach thousands.

France rushed rescue teams and supplies to its largely impoverished overseas territory in the Indian Ocean, which had suffered widespread devastation.

“I think there are several hundred dead, maybe we are approaching a thousand. Even thousands… given the violence of this event,” Mayotte Governor François-Xavier Beauville told Mayotte La 1er television station.

He had previously said that this was the worst hurricane to hit Mayotte in 90 years.

Beauville said it was extremely difficult to get the exact number of deaths and injuries after the severe tropical cyclone hit Mayotte on Saturday, causing severe damage to public infrastructure, including the airport, flattening neighborhoods and cutting off electricity supplies.

The French Interior Ministry confirmed that at least 11 people had been killed and more than 250 others injured earlier Sunday, but said the number was expected to rise significantly.

Mayotte, located in the southwestern Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa, is the poorest island in France and the poorest region in the European Union. It has a population of just over 300,000 distributed over two main islands.

Beauville said the worst devastation was seen in the slums of metal shacks and informal buildings that characterize much of Mayotte. Referring to the official death toll so far, he said, “This number is unbelievable when you see the pictures of the slums.”

He added: “I think the human losses are much higher.”

Cyclone Chido swept into the southwestern Indian Ocean on Friday and Saturday, also affecting nearby Comoros and Madagascar. The island of Mayotte was located directly in the path of the hurricane, and bore the brunt. Chido brought winds exceeding 220 kilometers per hour (136 mph), according to the French Meteorological Service, making it a Category 4 hurricane, the second strongest on the scale.

Chido later made landfall in Mozambique on the African mainland, and there were fears that more than two million people in the north of the country could be affected, according to authorities there.

French President Emmanuel Macron said his “thoughts” were with the people of Mayotte and Interior Minister Bruno Retailo was scheduled to travel to Mayotte on Monday. Ritello had warned on Saturday night after an emergency meeting in Paris that the death toll “will be high”, while new Prime Minister François Bayrou, who took office on Friday, said infrastructure had been severely damaged or destroyed across the island of Mayotte.

Pope Francis prayed for the victims during a visit Sunday to the French island of Corsica in the Mediterranean.

Rescuers and firefighters were sent from France and the neighboring French department of Reunion, and supplies were transported on military aircraft and ships. Damage to the airport’s control tower means that only military aircraft are able to fly.

Patrice Latron, the governor of Reunion, said that the authorities aim to create an air and sea bridge from Reunion to Mayotte. About 800 rescuers are scheduled to be dispatched in the coming days, and more than 80 tons of supplies have been airlifted or on their way via ship. Latron said some of the priorities were restoring electricity and getting drinking water.

The French Interior Ministry said 1,600 police and gendarmerie officers had been deployed “to assist residents and prevent possible looting.”

In some parts of Mayotte, entire neighborhoods of metal shacks and shacks were leveled, while residents reported trees uprooted, boats capsized or sank, and many areas were without electricity.

Chad Yoyo, a resident of Hamjajo in the north of the island, posted videos on Facebook showing extensive damage in his village and in the surrounding fields and hills, where almost every tree was flattened.

“Mayotte is devastated…we are devastated,” he said.

The Chido continued its easterly path into northern Mozambique where it continued to cause severe damage, while landlocked Malawi and Zimbabwe warned they may have to evacuate people due to flooding.

In Mozambique, UNICEF said that Cabo Delgado province, inhabited by about two million people, was the first area to be bombed, and many homes, schools and health facilities were partially or completely destroyed.

UNICEF spokesman in Mozambique, Jay Taylor, said that local communities face the possibility of being cut off from schools and health facilities for weeks, and the authorities in Mozambique have warned of a high risk of landslides.

December to March is cyclone season in the southwestern Indian Ocean and southern Africa, which has been hit by a series of powerful cyclones in recent years. Cyclone Idai in 2019 killed more than 1,300 people, most of them in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe. Hurricane Freddy left more than 1,000 dead in several countries in the Indian Ocean and South Africa last year.

Cyclones carry the risk of floods and landslides, but also pools of stagnant water that may later lead to outbreaks of water-borne cholera as well as dengue and malaria.

Studies say hurricanes are getting worse due to climate change. They could leave poor countries in Africa, which contribute little to global warming, having to deal with major humanitarian crises, underscoring their call for more help from rich countries to deal with the impact of climate change.