Cyclone Chido Devastates Mayotte: Death Toll Rises, Thousands Feared Lost

 Authorities in France’s Indian Ocean island territory of Mayotte said the death toll from the powerful Cyclone Chido that hit the island over the weekend is likely to be very high—between several hundred and a few thousand—as aid groups rush to assist after the worst cyclone to hit the region in over 90 years.

Television station Mayotte la 1ere was reporting a death toll of 20 late Monday morning, but Mayotte official François-Xavier Bieuville earlier said he expects the actual number to be significantly higher at “probably several hundred, maybe a thousand, even a few thousand.”

A large majority of the island’s residents are Muslims and Bieuville warned it may be impossible to ever get a proper estimate of the number killed because of religious customs that require deceased people be buried within 24 hours.

Mayotte's main airport is closed to civilian flights due to extensive damage—only military aircraft are able to fly in—and the island's main hospital has suffered extensive water damage to its surgery, intensive care, emergency and maternity departments.

Electricity is down across the island with the exception of in Mamoudzou, the capital city, while most telecommunications antennas were knocked out of service and officials have become concerned about access to clean drinking water, the Associated Press reported.

The French Red Cross described the devastation as “unimaginable," and drinking water, hygiene kits and buckets to boil water have been dispatched as aid efforts begin.

Cyclone Chido made landfall with wind speeds of 140 mph, which is equivalent to a Category 4 hurricane, and it was accompanied by storm surges between 13 and 28 feet.

On Monday, rescuers—including emergency workers who arrived from France and the nearby French territory of Reunion—are battling against time to find survivors, France 24 reported.

Mayotte is located in the Indian Ocean along the Southeastern coast of Africa and it is home to more than 321,000 residents. The territory is one of the poorest regions of France, and Bieuville noted that many of its residents live in “shantytowns”—which were destroyed by the cyclone.

Although it is located nearly 5,000 miles away from Paris, the island has been at the center of a key immigration debate in France as many asylum seekers from the nearby African nation of Comoros have been arriving at the island in large numbers in hopes of securing French citizenship. Earlier this year, the move triggered a legislative push to end automatic birthright citizenship for people born on the island.