Paris – At least 25 people have died as a result of a powerful storm that hit Mayat Island. Authorities suspect that more than a thousand people have died.
Life on Mayat has been thrown into chaos after the strongest storm in 90 years brought strong winds. Mayat is a French-administered island in the Indian Ocean between Madagascar and Mozambique.
Winds of up to 225 kilometres per hour have destroyed several structures, including a hospital. “People are dying of hunger and thirst after the storm,” a lawmaker told the BBC.
Rescuers are searching for survivors and are struggling to restore drinking water, electricity and phone lines. The main hospital and other health facilities have been damaged.
France said it was trying to mobilize humanitarian aid to help residents who are struggling to find food and water in temperatures of 31 degrees Celsius. According to the BBC, the French army is helping the affected people and clearing the debris in some places. French Interior Minister Bruno Rittal has visited the storm-hit Mayat. Strong storm in Mayat, 25 dead
Ambadilwahedou Soumila, the mayor of Mayat’s capital, Mamoudzou, said Cyclone Chid had destroyed everything. “Hospitals have been hit. Schools have been hit. Houses have been completely destroyed,” he told AFP.
The French Interior Ministry says more than 100,000 undocumented migrants are living in Mayat. Mayat, about 8,000 kilometers from the French capital, Paris, is poorer than other regions in France and has been plagued by gang violence and social unrest for decades.
More than three-quarters of Mayat’s population live below France’s poverty line. Mayat also experienced tension earlier this year over water shortages.