Quotes
Honestly, what we are experiencing is a tragedy, you feel like you are in the aftermath of a nuclear war ... I saw an entire neighbourhood disappear,
Mohamed Ishmael, a resident of Mayotte's capital Mamoudzou, told Reuters by phone
Mayotte is destroyed … we are destroyed,
he said
Many homes, schools and health facilities have been partially or completely destroyed, and we are working closely with [the] 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
It 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 France’s newly appointed Prime Minister Francois Bayrou
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 AFPThere is no more electricity,
he told AFP from his home, where he had barricaded himself in.jpg)
It is a time of emergency,
President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X, telling Mayotte residentsFor 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 earlier
I think there will certainly be several hundreds, maybe we will reach a thousand, even several thousands,
prefect François-Xavier Bieuville said on local media channel Mayotte La 1èreMy thoughts are with our compatriots in Mayotte, who have gone through the most horrific few hours and who have, for some, lost everything, lost their lives,
French president Emmanuel Macron saidThe hospital is hit, the schools are hit. Houses are totally devastated,
he said
Our country is in a high-risk zone, but we must learn to manage these storms,
he saidOur island is being hit by the most violent and destructive cyclone since 1934. Many of us have lost everything,
Mayotte prefect François-Xavier Bieuville said in a Facebook post Saturday
The damages already appear to be extensive, ... State and local emergency services are fully mobilized.”
he said on XMahorais, 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 added