by Admin Dec 20, 2024 President Emmanuel Macron took it upon himself to go and examine the level of damage caused by Cyclone Chido on the French-controlled territory of Mayotte. The President landed at the Petite-Terre airport which had the evident scars of surviving the devastating Cyclone Chido, from the shattered glass to the roofless building, an epileptic electricity that fluctuates due to the damage caused on the island power plants and low access to the internet. President Macron did not need a diviner or special spectacles to grasp the damage caused by Cyclone Chido. While 31 people have been confirmed dead, over a thousand injured, and another thousand still missing, the Island has become a shadow of itself even though Mayotte is the poorest French-controlled territory the island was hit by a storm traveling 220km and has left destruction in its wake. The President and entourage arrived at the Island as a beacon of hope amid the chaos with tonnes of food and other humanitarian aid he met his colonial citizens who had suffered the worst natural disasters in over 90 years. As the president walked through the destruction left in the wake of the cyclone, the survivors whispered that the underdevelopment of the Island aided the destruction. In its defense, the French government said the influx of undocumented migrants in the country will see a drastic increase if there is a developed Mayotte. While on tour with French President, François-Noël Buffet, the minister responsible for overseas territories, said “Faced with this exceptional situation, exceptional resources must be deployed to quickly restore vital services and implement a sustainable reconstruction plan for Mayotte.”. However, emergency services have been delivering food and water and clearing roads, while operations are still ongoing to find the missing. Health workers are concerned infectious diseases could spread, as residents have reported clean drinking water shortages and shops are rationing supplies.
Cyclone Chido Claims Several Lives in France‘s Mayotte
by Admin Dec 20, 2024 France’s Mayotte territory has been left devastated by Cyclone Chido which killed 31 people have been confirmed dead and over a thousand people were injured after the storm swept across the Indian Ocean island on its way to east Africa. Mayotte which is located around the French Indian Ocean archipelago has never experienced such a disaster in 91 years. Confirming the tragic incident, préfet Francois-Xavier Bieuville, a senior Mayotte official said “I think there will certainly be several hundred, maybe we will reach a thousand, even several thousand”. The French Interior Minister said “It will be difficult to account for all victims” adding that a certain figure can’t be ascertained at the moment. However, rescue operations have commenced while the government has also announced that an air bridge was being put in place from Reunion Island, another French overseas territory on the other side of Madagascar. Mohamed Ishmael, a resident of Mamoudzou, Mayotte’s capital, said “Honestly, what we are experiencing is a tragedy, you feel like you are in the aftermath of a nuclear war … I saw an entire neighborhood disappear”. Cyclone Chido hit Mayotte with winds of more than 200km/h (124mph), damaging housing, government buildings, and a hospital. Mayotte, located 5,000 miles from Paris, is significantly the poorest French-controlled country and has been crippled with gang violence and social unrest for decades. More than 100,000 undocumented migrants live in Mayotte, according to French Interior Ministry More than 40 percent of the people in Mayotte live below the French poverty line.
