MORONI, Comoros (AP) — The French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte suffered extensive damage from Cyclone Chido, officials said Saturday, as the storm barreled toward Africa’s east coast.
Chido brought winds of more than 140 miles per hour, according to the French weather service, ripping metal roofs off homes in Mayotte, home to just over 300,000 residents spread over two main islands. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
“Our island is being hit by the most violent and destructive cyclone since 1934. Many of us have lost everything,” Mayotte prefect François-Xavier Bieuville said in a Facebook post on Saturday. He said the highest alert has been lifted so rescuers can help after the worst of the cyclone passes.
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Mayotte is still under red alert for the general population and people were asked to “remain confined in a solid shelter,” Bieuville said. Only emergency and security services were allowed outside.
French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said Mayotte had been badly hit. “The damage already appears to be extensive,” he said on X. “State and local emergency services are fully mobilized.”
Local broadcaster Mayotte la 1ere said thousands of homes were without power, tin huts and other small structures had been blown away and many trees had been blown down.
Retailleau said 110 rescue workers and firefighters have been sent to Mayotte from France and the nearby Réunion region and that an additional reinforcement of 140 people will be sent on Sunday. French President Emmanuel Macron said he was closely monitoring the situation in Mayotte.
The Comoros also suffered as the storm approached mainland Africa
The Comoros, an archipelago north of Mayotte, was also hit by Chido and the highest red alert was declared in some areas. Authorities said they were concerned about a group of 11 fishermen who had gone out to sea on Monday and had not heard anything.
Comoros authorities have ordered all ships to remain anchored in ports and closed the main airport and government offices. Schools had to close on Friday so people could prepare for the cyclone.
Chido was expected to continue its eastward trajectory and reach Mozambique on the African mainland late Saturday or early Sunday, forecasters said. Mozambique’s disaster agency has warned that 2.5 million people could be affected in the northern provinces of Cabo Delgado and Nampula.
And further inland, landlocked Malawi and Zimbabwe were also preparing. Malawi’s department of disaster management said it expected flooding in some parts and urged some people to move to higher ground. In Zimbabwe, authorities said some people should prepare to evacuate.
December to March is cyclone season in the southeastern Indian Ocean and southern Africa has been ravaged by a series of strong cyclones in recent years.
Cyclone Idai killed more than 1,300 people in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe in 2019. Cyclone Freddy caused more than a thousand deaths in several countries last year.
The cyclones bring the risk of floods and landslides, but stagnant pools of water can also later lead to deadly outbreaks of the water-borne cholera disease – as happened in the aftermath of Idai – as well as dengue fever and malaria.
Studies say cyclones are getting worse due to climate change. They could leave poor countries in southern Africa, which contribute little to climate change, behind and face major humanitarian crises.
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Associated Press writer Sylvie Corbet in Paris contributed to this report.
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AP Africa News: https://apnews.com/hub/africa
