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| Rescue workers work to remove debris Mayotte region of France due to Cyclone Chido | Photo: Reuters |
Powerful Cyclone Chido has battered the French-controlled Mayotte archipelago in the Indian Ocean, Heavy death toll feared of people.
Rescue workers are searching for survivors, but they have not yet reached some areas.
Cyclone Chido, which hit Mayo last Saturday with winds of more than 225 kilometers per hour, caused widespread destruction. The poor, living in makeshift shelters, suffered the most.
Mayo is home to 320,000 people. Some local residents say they are struggling with severe shortages of food, water and shelter.
A resident of the capital city of Mamudzu was waiting in line to receive water supplies. "We have not had any water for three days," he said.
Another Mamudzu resident, John Baloz, said he was surprised that he was still alive after the cyclone hit.
"The wind was blowing and I was panicking, screaming, 'We need help, we need help.' I was screaming because I felt like I was going to die," he said.
Another resident of the capital, Mohammed Ismail, told Reuters the situation there was "catastrophic." Describing the situation, he said it was like the devastation of a nuclear war. Places around him had disappeared.
The poor in Mayotte have been hit hardest. Among these poor are undocumented migrants who have sought refuge in the French territory in the hope of becoming immigrants. They are believed to be particularly affected by the precarious nature of their housing.
The people of Mayotte are heavily dependent on financial aid from France and have long struggled with poverty, unemployment, and political instability.
About 75 percent of Mayotte's population lives below the national poverty line. Almost one in three people there is unemployed.
The leader of the island region, François-Xavier Beauville, told local media that the death toll could rise significantly once the full extent of the damage is known. He expressed concern about the death toll, saying it would be "certainly in the hundreds" and could reach "several thousand".
Cyclone Chido also hit Mozambique early Sunday morning. It made landfall about 25 miles south of the northern city of Pemba, according to the weather service.
Authorities said the cyclone caused structural damage and power outages in the northern coastal provinces of Nampula and Cabo Delgado on Saturday morning.