The French archipelago Mayotte lies devastated this week after an unprecedented cyclone struck the country’s poorest department – its impact magnified by chronic infrastructure failings and a migration crisis that saw thousands avoid emergency shelter for fear of deportation.
With winds exceeding 220 kilometres per hour – a ferocity not seen since the 1930s – Cyclone Chido lashed the Indian Ocean territory, where more than 77 percent of people survive below the poverty line and a third live in homes made of sheet metal and other lightweight materials.
“Ninety percent of Mamoudzou is totally devastated – without water, without food, without electricity, without emergency access and without roofs,” Ambdilwahedou Soumaila, mayor of the capital city, told RFI.
“We had no chance.”
The sheer strength of Chido caught the people of Mayotte off guard, with the most vulnerable residents hit hardest. The territory’s port is strewn with boats piled upon each other, while damage to the airport has severely compromised relief efforts.
Mayotte typically benefits from Madagascar‘s natural shield against such weather systems, which usually weakens cyclones before they reach the territory.
“Unfortunately, when it arrived, it was already too late.”
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