The hurricane destroyed entire residential areas in Mayotte, located in the Indian Ocean.
Hundreds or even thousands are feared dead in the hurricane in Mayotte, which belongs to France.
A hurricane hit the islands of Mayotte, located between Madagascar and Mozambique, over the weekend.
– I estimate that with certainty at least several hundreds or even thousands have died, regional director Francois-Xavier Bieuville told local news channel Mayotte la Premiere.
Estimates of the number of victims are preliminary and have not been refined since Sunday. According to the French Ministry of the Interior, it is not yet possible to estimate the number of victims.
About 320,000 people live in Mayotte.
The mayor of the capital Mamoudzou Ambdilwahedou Soumaila previously told news agency AFP that the hurricane destroyed buildings and damaged the city’s hospital, among other things.
Living in Mamoudzou Mahamed Ismael told the news agency Reuters that the view in the city was like the aftermath of a nuclear war. According to Ismael, entire residential areas have been destroyed.
Rescuers are searching for survivors
The aid operation is underway and the rescue workers are looking for survivors of the hurricane in Mayotte.
A third of Mayotte’s population lives in shack villages, which are feared to have been completely destroyed. In Mayotte, there are many people who came to the country illegally from the Comoros, who have moved because of a better standard of living.
According to the French Ministry of the Interior, around 100,000 undocumented people live in Mayotte. Some of them haven’t dared to seek help after the hurricane.
France has sent aid workers and aid supplies to Mayotte. The first aid flight landed yesterday. It was carrying medical personnel and medical supplies.
From the French island of Réunion, 1,400 kilometers away, a navy ship has also left for Mayotte.
Relief work is hampered by the damage suffered by the airport, power outages and the destruction of roads. There has been a shortage of clean drinking water in Mayotte even before the hurricane. Poor Mayotte is heavily dependent on the mother country for French aid.
French Minister of the Interior Bruno Retailleau travel to Mayotte today.
The hurricane hit the islands about 500 kilometers east of Mozambique on Saturday. The strength of the storm was in some places over 55 meters per second. The storm also caused damage in Mozambique.