Paris, Dec 16 (EFE). – The main island of Mayotte “is totally devastated,” declared French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau during a press conference following the age of Cyclone Chido through the French overseas department in the Indian Ocean.
The minister participated virtually in a crisis meeting in Paris chaired by President Emmanuel Macron, who said he would travel to Mayotte in the coming days and declare a period of national mourning.
The official death toll in the island of 320,000 people is currently at 20, but the perfect, François-Xavier Bieuville, said Sunday night that there could be several hundred dead or even several thousand.
After visiting the French island in the Indian Ocean, Retailleau said an accurate death toll will take days and may be very difficult to count, partly because of the Muslim tradition of burying people within 24 hours.
He added that Mayotte is also a destination for undocumented migrants from nearby Comoros and Somalia, who may have entered irregularly and will be difficult to trace.
The minister confirmed that 90% of houses had been affected, particularly in the ‘bidonvilles,’ or shanty towns, where many were destroyed.
Transport infrastructure suffered significant material damage, making it difficult for the emergency services to reach the island.
Retailleau reiterated that the most urgent needs were water and food, warning that water treatment plants would not reach 50% of their capacity within 48 hours and would need at least a week to reach 95%.
The island, which already has problems with its drinking water supply under normal conditions, will be using an A400M military transport plane to deliver 20 tonnes of water and food, said the minister.
In addition, the main hospital suffered extensive water damage to the surgical, intensive care, emergency, and maternity wards, according to Health Minister Darrieussecq.
The authorities said efforts were underway to set up a field clinic that will start operating on Thursday and send 100 additional medical staff to the area.
Officials were working to reopen the airport, which can only operate during the day for the time being, to multiply the air bridge from the island of Réunion, two hours away, where aid is centralized.
has deployed 13 aircraft to serve the island, in addition to those of three commercial companies that have dedicated them to this purpose.
According to Retailleau, the port is operating normally despite damages, allowing aid to arrive in container ships in the coming days.
will also send building materials and modular housing from the mainland, 8,000 kilometers away, to begin repairing the enormous damage to the territory’s housing stock.
As for the hospitals, the minister said that they will gradually reach 40-45% of their activity.
The minister said there had been no public order problems but pointed out that the island’s prefect will have the power to impose a curfew if necessary.
Retailleau said that a state of emergency over natural disaster would be declared in the coming hours.
However, he recalled that only 10% of the island’s inhabitants have insurance, which prevents them from accessing exceptional aid, so he said that a special aid fund would be created.
The people of Mayotte have previously expressed dissatisfaction with the under-investment and neglect that their archipelago has suffered at the hands of the French government.
According to the French statistics agency INSEE, around three-quarters of the population live in poverty, with an average annual disposable income of about one-eighth that of the Paris region.
The area has also seen political unrest and growing for the far-right National Rally party, reflecting deep dissatisfaction with the political status quo.
Last year, after a drought and mismanagement led to water shortages, the French army moved in to quell protests on the islands. EFE
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