France will do everything it can to rebuild the overseas territory of Mayotte, which was devastated by Cyclone Chido, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday during a visit to the small archipelago in the Indian Ocean.
Cyclone Chido hit Mayotte on Saturday with winds of 220 kilometers per hour, leaving a trail of destruction.
More than 2,000 people were injured and 31 died in the disaster, but authorities fear the death toll could be significantly higher.
The local prefect, François-Xavier Bieuville, estimates that hundreds could be killed.
The French overseas territory of Mayotte is located in the Indian Ocean, between the coast of the southeast African country Mozambique and the island state of Madagascar.
About 310,000 people live on the archipelago, where the average age is 23 years.
Life in Mayotte is fundamentally different from mainland France, more than 8,000 kilometers away. More than three-quarters of the population lives below the poverty line and people have lower disposable incomes than almost any other part of France, including the population of nearby La Réunion.
The economy on the archipelago, which was colonized by France in the mid-19th century, is poorly developed and many people are unemployed and live in makeshift houses.
Cyclone Chido also reached Mozambique on the African mainland this weekend, where the death toll rose to 45 on Wednesday, the Institute for National Disaster Management reported. More than 500 other people were injured, the report said.
According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), at least 175,000 people were affected by the cyclone, which destroyed about 24,000 homes as well as numerous schools and health facilities.
