The French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte has suffered extensive damage from Tropical Cyclone Chido, officials reported on Saturday, as the storm advanced toward the African mainland.
With winds exceeding 220 kilometers per hour, the cyclone tore off metal roofs and toppled trees across the island, home to over 300,000 people.
While there were no immediate reports of casualties, Prefect François-Xavier Bieuville described the cyclone as the most destructive in nearly a century.
“Many of us have lost everything,” he wrote on Facebook, noting that the highest alert level had been lifted to facilitate rescue efforts.
Despite this, Mayotte remains under a red alert, with residents urged to stay in secure shelters. Emergency and security services are the only personnel allowed outdoors, according to Bieuville.
French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau described the devastation as severe, stating on X that local and state emergency services are fully mobilized.
Thousands of homes were left without power, and lightweight structures such as tin huts were destroyed, local broadcaster Mayotte la 1ère reported.
Rescue efforts are underway, with 110 firefighters and rescuers already deployed from France and Reunion, and 140 more reinforcements expected to arrive Sunday.
Meanwhile, Cyclone Chido also battered the nearby Comoros islands, prompting authorities to issue the highest-level red alert in several areas.
Concerns have mounted for 11 fishermen who went missing after venturing out to sea earlier in the week. Comoros officials have ordered all vessels to remain anchored, closed the main airport, government offices, and schools, and urged residents to prepare for the storm’s impact.
Forecasters expect Chido to make landfall in Mozambique late Saturday or early Sunday. Mozambique’s disaster agency has warned that 2.5 million people could be affected, particularly in the provinces of Cabo Delgado and Nampula.
