Quotes
The next minutes and hours are very important
French civil security spokesperson Alexandre Jouassard told the France 2 news channel
The hospital has suffered major water damage and destruction, notably in the surgical, intensive care, maternity and emergency units,
the French health minister, Geneviève Darrieussecq, told France 2, adding
The hospital is hit, the schools are hit. Houses are totally devastated,
he said
For the accommodation of emergency services, three structures capable of accommodating 150 people are on site, with an additional one currently on its way,
Lecornu said on X late Sunday, adding
Cyclone Chido is a catastrophe for children in northern Mozambique. They risk losing their homes, being separated from their families, and suffering limited access to water, sanitation, healthcare and education,
it 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,
Mohamed Ishmael, a resident of Mayotte’s capital Mamoudzou, told Reuters by phone
Our hearts go out to France following the devastating passage of Cyclone Chido through Mayotte,
she posted in French online
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 shantytownIt 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 BayrouThe 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.jpg)
It is a time of emergency,
President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X, telling Mayotte residentsThere is no more electricity,
he told AFP from his home, where he had barricaded himself in.jpg)
Everyone understands that this was a cyclone that was unexpectedly violent,
Bayrou said
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 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 saidOur country is in a high-risk zone, but we must learn to manage these storms,
he said