France was rushing help by ship and military aircraft to its poor overseas territory of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean on Monday after the island was shattered by its worst storm in nearly a century.
Authorities in Mayotte fear hundreds and possibly thousands of people have died in Cyclone Chido, although the official death toll on Monday morning stood at 14. Rescue teams and medical personnel have been sent to the island off the east coast of Africa from France and from the nearby French territory of Reunion, as well as tonnes of supplies.
French television station TF1 reported Monday morning that Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau had arrived in Mamoudzou, the capital of Mayotte.
Further inland, Malawi and Zimbabwe have also made preparations for possible evacuations because of flooding as Chido continues its eastern trajectory, although the cyclone has weakened as it passes over land.
December through to March is cyclone season in the southwestern Indian Ocean and southern Africa has been pummeled by a series of strong ones in recent years. Cyclone Idai in 2019 killed more than 1300 people, mostly in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe. Cyclone Freddy left more than 1000 dead across several countries in the Indian Ocean and southern Africa last year.
