Several hundred feared dead after Mayotte cyclone

BBC:

Hundreds of people are feared dead in Mayotte after the French Indian Ocean territory was devastated by a powerful cyclone.

Rescue workers, including reinforcements from France, are combing through the debris searching for survivors.

Entire settlements were flattened when Cyclone Chido brought wind speeds of more than 225km/h (140mph), with the poorest living in makeshift shelters particularly hard hit.

Widespread damage to infrastructure – including downed power lines and impassable roads – has severely hindered emergency operations.

Some of Mayotte’s population of 320,000 have said they are struggling with severe shortages of food, water and shelter.

One resident of the capital city, Mamoudzou, waiting in line for supplies said: “We’ve had no water for three days now, so it’s starting to be a lot.

“We’re trying to get the bare minimum to live on, because we don’t know when the water will come back.”

Another Mamoudzou resident, John Balloz, said he was surprised he did not die when the cyclone struck.

“It was the wind, the wind blowing, and I was panicked, I screamed, ‘We need help, we need help.’ I was screaming because I could see the end coming for me,” he said.

Mohamed Ishmael, who also lives in the capital,told Reuters news agency the situation there was “a tragedy” and said: “You feel like you are in the aftermath of a nuclear war… I saw an entire neighbourhood disappear.”