France will do everything it can to rebuild the overseas territory of Mayotte, which was devastated by Cyclone Chido, French President Emmanuel Macron said during a visit to the small group of islands in the Indian Ocean on Thursday.
Cyclone Chido swept across Mayotte with winds reaching 220 kilometres per hour on Saturday, leaving a trail of destruction.
More than 2,000 people were reported injured and 31 died in the disaster, but authorities fear that the death toll could be significantly higher.
The local prefect, François-Xavier Bieuville, estimates there could be several hundred dead.
The French overseas territory of Mayotte is located in the Indian Ocean between the coast of the south-eastern African country of Mozambique and the island nation of Madagascar.
About 310,000 people live on the archipelago, where the average age is 23.
Life in Mayotte is fundamentally different than on the French mainland, more than 8,000 kilometres away. More than three-quarters of the population live below the poverty line and people have less disposable income than in almost any other part of France, including the population of nearby La Réunion.
The economy on the archipelago, which was colonized by France in the mid-19th century, is poorly developed, and many people are unemployed and live in makeshift homes.
Cyclone Chido also reached Mozambique on the African mainland over the weekend, where the death toll rose to 45 on Wednesday, the Institute for National Disaster Management reported. More than 500 other people were injured, it said.
According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), at least 175,000 people have been affected by the cyclone, which destroyed around 24,000 homes, as well as numerous schools and health facilities.
