France Rushes Help to Mayotte After Cyclone Chido Left Hundreds Fearer Dead

On Monday, France utilized ships and military aircraft to deliver rescuers and supplies to Mayotte, the tiny French island territory off Africa that its deadliest cyclone had pummeled in almost a century. Authorities suspect that hundreds if not thousands, have died.

Survivors strolled through debris-strewn streets, looking for water and shelter, after Cyclone Chido destroyed entire districts on Saturday when it reached Mayotte, France's poorest territory and, by extension, the European Union.

France rushes aid to Mayotte, devastated by Cyclone Chido

French President Emmanuel Macron announced a national mourning period and plans to visit in the coming days following "this tragedy that has shaken each of us."

As of Monday evening, the Interior Ministry reported 21 deaths in hospitals, with 45 individuals in serious condition. However, French Health Minister Geneviève Darrieussecq cautioned that any predictions were likely to be much underestimated "compared to the scale of the disaster."

"There's no water or electricity. Hunger has begun to rise. "It is critical that aid arrives, especially when you see children and babies to whom we have nothing concrete to offer," Mayotte Sen. Salama Ramia told BFM TV.

Aftermath of Cyclone Chido in French territory Mayotte

Chido was a category 4 cyclone, the second strongest on the scale, and the worst to hit Mayotte since the 1930s, Prefect François-Xavier Bieuville, the top French government official in the island group, told Mayotte la 1ere.

After pummeling Mayotte, Cyclone Chido continued west and made landfall Sunday in Mozambique, where it killed three people, injured 34, and destroyed classrooms in four schools. In neighboring Malawi, Chido killed two people.

Read more: December to Remember Event at Kzoo Parks Was Cancelled