“Winds of up to 220 km/h caused by Cyclone Chido have devastated the French overseas territory of Mayotte. It’s feared that more than 200… volunteers are missing,” the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said on X.
According to the latest official toll, 21 people are confirmed to have been killed by Cyclone Chido when it barrelled into the island and its surrounding archipelago at the weekend.
But authorities fear that hundreds, and possibly even thousands, were killed, once the true scale of the toll is revealed, after the rubble is cleared and roads unblocked.
The health services are in tatters, power and mobile phone services have been knocked out, the airport closed to civilian flights while there is mounting concern about how to ensure supplies of drinking water.
“What is really scary is the number of people that are still missing,” IFRC spokesman Tommaso Della Longa told BBC television.
“Even the volunteers of the French Red Cross: we are talking about more than 200 volunteers already affected and are also missing, so they don’t have any contact with them.
“French Red Cross colleagues already deployed some teams and some humanitarian aid before the cyclone hit, so they were there last week.”
“But then of course, being prepared for such a heavy impact is very complicated, and now, internal logistics — it’s really again a nightmare.”
“Even shelter is lacking at the moment, and then you need to organise distribution. So this will take time, without mentioning the search and rescue operation and people that can still be under the rubble.”
“The hope here is that humanitarian aid can enter as soon as possible, but most importantly the search and rescue operation will find the largest number of people still alive.”
The IFRC is the world’s largest humanitarian network, bringing together more than 16 million volunteers around the world to help vulnerable people affected by disasters and health emergencies.
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© Agence France-Presse
