Quotes
Many homes, schools and health facilities have been partially or completely destroyed and we are working closely with government to ensure continuity of essential basic services,
UNICEF said
We are continuing to evaluate the needs of emergency services and the population to organise the schedule" of deployment
the prefecture said in a statement
Everything has been swept away, everything is razed,
said Mounira, a woman whose house was destroyed in the Kaweni district in Mamoudzou's east -- France's largest shantytown.jpg)
Everyone understands that this was a cyclone that was unexpectedly violent,
Bayrou said, with Chido packing gusts of wind of up to 200 kilometers (120 miles) per hour
For the toll, it’s going to be complicated, because Mayotte is a Muslim land where the dead are buried within 24 hours,
a French interior ministry official said
The cyclone is already affecting Pemba with a very strong intensity. We were monitoring the situation but there is no communication with Pemba since 7 am (0500 GMT),
National Institute of Meteorology director Aderito Aramuge told AFP
There is no more electricity,
he told AFP from his home, where he had barricaded himself inMany of us have lost everything,
said prefect Francois-Xavier Bieuville, calling Chido.jpg)
It is a time of emergency,
President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X, telling Mayotte residentsIt will take several days” to establish the death toll, but “we fear that it is heavy
he said as he left a government crisis meeting chaired by Bayrou
Our island is at this moment deeply affected by the most violent and destructive cyclone that we have seen since 1934. Many of us have lost everything,
Mayotte's prefect, a top local official, wrote in a post on Facebook
Our country is in a high-risk zone, but we must learn to manage these storms,
he saidThe damages already appear to be extensive, ... State and local emergency services are fully mobilized.”
he said on X
Mahorais, the whole country is at your side,
declared Emmanuel Macron in his post
The situation is urgent. We will be there today and tomorrow,
he added, announcing the arrival of "reinforcements" on Saturday and SundayEven buildings built to earthquake standards haven't held up. The emergency services command centre has been evacuated and is functioning at partial capacity,
he addedState and local emergency services are fully mobilized. Already, 110 civil security personnel and firefighters have been dispatched and are on site. A second dispatch will take place tomorrow with a further 140 troops. I ask the population to follow the instructions of the local authorities,
he saidThis is serious. Mayotte has never known a situation like it,
local council leader Ben Issa Ousseni said on FridayIt's an unprecedented event, extremely violent,
Governor Francois-Xavier Bieuville saidMedical resources have been reinforced to take care of injured or sick people."
The regional health agency said