Authorities in France\u2019s Indian Ocean island territory of Mayotte said the death toll from the powerful Cyclone Chido that hit the island over the weekend is likely to be very high\u2014between several hundred and a few thousand\u2014as aid groups rush to assist after the\u00a0worst cyclone\u00a0to hit the region in over 90 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Television station Mayotte la 1ere was\u00a0reporting\u00a0a death toll of 20 late Monday morning, but Mayotte official Fran\u00e7ois-Xavier Bieuville earlier\u00a0said\u00a0he expects the actual number to be significantly higher at \u201cprobably several hundred, maybe a thousand, even a few thousand.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A large majority of the island\u2019s residents are Muslims and Bieuville\u00a0warned\u00a0it may be impossible to ever get a proper estimate of the number killed because of religious customs that require deceased people be buried within 24 hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mayotte’s main airport is closed to civilian flights due to extensive damage\u2014only military aircraft are able to fly in\u2014and the island’s main hospital has suffered extensive water\u00a0damage\u00a0to its surgery, intensive care, emergency and maternity departments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Electricity is down across the island with the exception of in Mamoudzou, the capital city, while most telecommunications antennas were knocked out of service and officials have become concerned about access to clean drinking water, the\u00a0Associated Press\u00a0reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The French Red Cross described the devastation as \u201cunimaginable,” and drinking water, hygiene kits and buckets to boil water have been dispatched as aid efforts begin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cyclone Chido made landfall with wind speeds of 140 mph, which is equivalent to a Category 4 hurricane, and it was accompanied by storm surges between 13 and 28 feet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Monday, rescuers\u2014including emergency workers who arrived from France and the nearby French territory of Reunion\u2014are battling against time to find survivors, France 24\u00a0reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mayotte is located in the Indian Ocean along the Southeastern coast of Africa and it is home to more than 321,000 residents. The territory is one of the\u00a0poorest\u00a0regions of France, and Bieuville noted that many of its residents live in \u201cshantytowns\u201d\u2014which were destroyed by the cyclone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although it is located nearly 5,000 miles away from Paris, the island has been at the center of a key immigration debate in France as many asylum seekers from the nearby African nation of Comoros have been arriving at the island in large numbers in\u00a0hopes of securing\u00a0French citizenship. Earlier this year, the move triggered a legislative push to end automatic birthright citizenship for people born on the island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Authorities in France\u2019s Indian Ocean island territory of Mayotte said the death toll from the powerful Cyclone Chido that hit the island over the weekend is likely to be very high\u2014between several hundred and a few thousand\u2014as aid groups rush to assist after the\u00a0worst cyclone\u00a0to hit the region in over 90 years. Key Facts Television […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39913,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,234,16],"tags":[7,235,26],"class_list":{"0":"post-39912","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-featured","8":"category-nature","9":"category-news","10":"tag-apie-project","11":"tag-nature","12":"tag-news"},"yoast_head":"\n