On Saturday, a cyclone with wind speeds of over 60 meters per second hit the French island of Mayotte. Not since 1934 has the island faced a similar storm. Searches are being made for the dead in the ruins of the island’s makeshift sheds, metal huts, buildings and houses. But the estimate of how many dead people can expect to find is very approximate. There are several reasons for that. The island of Mayotte is a French overseas territory, and part of the Comoros archipelago in the Indian Ocean. While the rest of the archipelago voted for independence from France in 1975, the inhabitants of Mayotte would still be French. That is why Mayotte has a French welfare system. Despite being the poorest of France’s 13 overseas territories, Mayotte has a somewhat higher standard of living than the other Comoros islands. Many thousands of people probably come to the island illegally every year. A boy sits by the ruins of several homes in Labattoir in Mayotte. Photo: Chafion Madi / Reuters The consequences were dramatic when “Chido” hit the island on Saturday. The capital Mamoudzou is razed. Øya’s hospital and airport have suffered extensive damage. Electricity and water supplies have been cut, and communication links are down. – It is as if you are living in the aftermath of a nuclear war. I saw an entire neighborhood disappear, says Mohamed Ishmael to Reuters. 100,000 illegal immigrants A total of around 320,000 people live in Mayotte, most of them poor. But the French authorities also estimate that there are around 100,000 illegal immigrants on the island. On Monday evening, the BBC wrote that the official death toll after the cyclone is 20. But images of the destruction mean that many expect the death toll to rise significantly. No one knows the exact number. Therefore, the French authorities are faced with a chaotic task when registering the dead. – I think there are definitely several hundred dead, maybe closer to a thousand or several thousand, says François-Xavier Bieuville, chief civil servant on the island, to local radio. Rescue crews clear a road in Mayotte. Photo: Securite Civile / via AFP Fear that it was a trap The illegal immigrants often came for welfare, but live in huts, sheds and slums. Many are afraid of the authorities. Witnesses say that people did not dare to go to the emergency centers for fear that it was a trap and that they would be deported. – People stayed where they were until the end, said Ousseni Balahachi, a retired nurse, to the AFP news agency. – When they saw how intense it was, they panicked and looked for places to seek refuge. But it was too late. Poor living conditions have made the damage extra large. Many live in makeshift sheds. Photo: Securite Civile / via Reuters Lack of overview The poor living conditions made the damage extra large, according to Radio France Internationale (RFI). On Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron held a crisis meeting on the situation in Mayotte. Minister of the Interior Bruno Retailleau has made the trip to the island. This comes after Retailleau recently announced a tougher line against illegal immigrants in Mayotte, according to broadcaster France 24. In the last couple of years, France has sent thousands of police officers and soldiers to Mayotte to deport illegal immigrants and remove slum buildings, according to RFI . In 2016, around 700 immigrants were thrown out of their homes by anti-immigration groups on the island. Interested in abroad? Listen to the foreign affairs editor’s podcast: Published 17.12.2024, at 07.22 Updated 17.12.2024, at 07.45
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