Tens of thousands without water in Mayotte as curfew brought in 9 hours ago Amy Walker BBC News Tens of thousands of people are still without access to water in Mayotte after the French Indian Ocean territory was devastated by Cyclone Chido, as rescuers race to find missing people.
Preliminary figures from France’s interior ministry report 22 people have died, but Mayotte’s prefect has warned the toll could rise to thousands.
Health workers are concerned infectious diseases could spread, as residents have reported clean drinking water shortages and shops are rationing supplies.
On Wednesday, authorities said the water system had been partially re-established and they hoped 50% of the island’s population would have access to water by the evening.
The government said it was sending in supplies via an air bridge from its other Indian Ocean territory, Reunion Island.
Curfew brought in Mayotte, leaving tens of thousands without water.
Nine hours ago.
Walker Amy.
The BBC News.
Rescuers are rushing to locate missing people in Mayotte, a French territory in the Indian Ocean that was devastated by Cyclone Chido, leaving tens of thousands of people without access to water.
22 people have died, according to preliminary figures from France’s interior ministry, but Mayotte’s prefect has warned that the death toll could reach thousands.
Since residents have reported a lack of clean drinking water and stores are limiting supplies, health professionals are worried that infectious diseases could spread. On Wednesday, more aid is expected to arrive.
A curfew was imposed on islanders for the first time between Tuesday at 22:00 local time and Wednesday at 4:00 (19:00 and 1:00 GMT) in an effort to stop looting.
“To get water, everyone is running to the stores. Ali Ahmidi Youssouf, 39, told AFP on Wednesday while strolling through the community of Pamandzi, off the main island of the archipelago, holding a few bottles, “There is a general shortage.”.
According to the authorities, restoring damaged water plants to operation is their top priority.
The water system was partially restored on Wednesday, according to officials, who expressed optimism that by the evening, half of the island’s population would have access to water.
In addition to President Emmanuel Macron’s planned visit to Mayotte on Thursday, the French government announced that 120 tonnes of food would be distributed on Wednesday.
Half of the area is still without electricity. In order to prevent looting, a recently enforced curfew mandates that people remain in their homes for six hours each night.
“We don’t have electricity,” Mamoudzou’s mayor, Ambdilwahedou Soumaila, made known to Radio France Internationale. “Some people take advantage of the fact that it is getting dark. “.”.
Many of the people who live in Mayotte live in shanty towns, making it one of the poorest regions of France.
Winds of over 225 km/h (140 mph) were recorded on Saturday by Chido, the worst storm to hit the archipelago in 90 years. This caused fields of dirt and debris to be left behind, flattening areas where people live in shacks with sheet metal roofs.
In her devastated Pamandzi neighborhood, Nasrine, a teacher who did not provide her last name, told AFP, “It was like a steamroller that crushed everything.”.
“Roofs flew away as if they were pieces of paper,” another storm witness told Reuters.
“A windstorm tore a wooden plank and broke the window. Diego Plato, a photographer with the French Legion’s 5th Foreign Regiment, stated that the planks measured 2 meters by 3 meters (6 points 5 by 9 points 8 feet).
He also mentioned that many of the legion’s buildings are no longer able to function because they are roofless.
As they work to clear debris and fallen trees and unblock roads, rescuers are currently looking for survivors in the ruins, including in Mamoudzou.
Residents of Mamoudzou, whose homes were spared from the storm, pounded metal sheets over roofs that were damaged on Wednesday morning.
The prefect of Mayotte, Francois-Xavier Bieuville, previously warned local media that once the damage was fully evaluated, the death toll could increase dramatically.
There would “definitely be several hundred” and possibly thousands, he cautioned.
According to the disaster management departments of Mozambique and Malawi, Chido also killed at least 45 people in those countries and at least 13 in Malawi.
The comparatively low official toll in Mayotte, according to officials, is because many areas are inaccessible and some victims have already been buried.
Uncertainty regarding Mayotte’s population size exacerbates the challenge.
An estimated 100,000 to 200,000 undocumented migrants may reside in the territory, which has 320,000 residents officially.
According to the interior ministry’s preliminary statistics, 1,373 people were hurt in Mayotte.
There were “200 badly wounded and 1,500 wounded in a relative state of urgency,” according to François Bayrou, the recently appointed prime minister of France, who addressed parliament on Tuesday.
In a subsequent post on X, Bayrou stated, “I have never seen a disaster of this magnitude on national soil.”.
The children whose homes have been swept away, whose schools have been nearly completely destroyed, and whose parents are in great distress come to mind. “.
According to the government, it was using an air bridge to bring in supplies from Reunion Island, another territory in the Indian Ocean.
Twenty tonnes of food will be distributed on the smaller island of Petite-Terre and 100 tonnes on the larger island of Grand-Terre in Mayotte on Wednesday.
Additionally, 180 tons of cargo are scheduled to arrive in Mayotte on Thursday morning aboard a French navy support and assistance vessel.
