Given the brutality of what they experienced, many feel the death toll is significantly greater than what is officially recorded.
As thousands of people struggled to survive without the most basic necessities and amid concerns of a rising death toll, French President Emmanuel Macron has assessed the destruction caused by a storm that swept across the Indian Ocean archipelago of Mayotte.
“Mayotte is demolished,” a security guard at the airport informed Macron Thursday as soon as he got off the aircraft.
After Cyclone Chido, the biggest cyclone in almost a century, tore across French territory on Saturday, security agent Assane Haloi said her family members, including little children, are without electricity or water and have nowhere to go.
“There is nothing and no roof. No food, no water, no power. She called for immediate assistance, saying, “We are all wet from our kids covering ourselves with whatever we have so that we can sleep, and we can’t even shelter.”
Macron flew in a helicopter to assess the damage from above. After that, he went to the hospital in the capital of Mayotte, Mamoudzou, to speak with patients and medical personnel.
Locals request assistance
The French president listened to people pleading for assistance while wearing a traditional Mayotte scarf over his white shirt and tie, sleeves rolled to the elbows. He was informed by a medical staff member that some patients had gone 48 hours without drinking any water.
Macron was informed by a member of the hospital’s psychological department that “we are the ones helping and we can’t help.”
With tears in her eyes, she replied, “We are all in an unsafe situation, psychologically unwell, sorry,” as the president placed his hand on her shoulder.
Macron announced that a field hospital would be established on Friday and that other caregivers would be arriving in addition to those that came with him.
Unknown death toll
Due in part to the Muslim custom of burying the deceased within 24 hours, some locals also expressed their anguish at not knowing about individuals who have passed away or are still unaccounted for.
We’re dealing with mass graves that are open to the public,” stated Estelle Youssoufa, a legislator from Mayotte. Nobody has arrived to retrieve the buried bodies, and there are no rescuers.
The odor of dead and hurried graves have been reported by some survivors and humanitarian organizations.
Many deaths have gone unreported, Macron said. According to him, phone service would be restored “in the coming days” so that individuals can report loved ones who are missing.
According to French officials, there have been at least 31 fatalities and over 1,500 injuries, including more than 200 critical injuries. However, hundreds or possibly thousands of individuals are thought to have perished.
Macron announced he would spend the night in Mayotte and visit a slum neighborhood severely damaged by Cyclone Chido on Friday morning.
More assistance is required.
The 27-year-old Abdou Houmadou stated that emergency assistance, not Macron’s presence, is required. “Mr President, what I’d like to tell you… is I think the spending you made from Paris to Mayotte would have been better spent to help the people,” stated the president.
Macron’s visit “is a good thing because he’ll be able to see by himself the damage,” according to Ahamadi Mohammed, another local.
“I think that we’ll then get significant aid to try and get the island back on its feet,” added the 58-year-old.
According to Macron’s office, the president’s airplane included four tons of food and medical supplies in addition to more rescues.
On Thursday morning, a navy vessel carrying 180 tons of supplies and equipment landed in Mayotte.
Slum areas are severely affected.
Some of the most severely affected by the cyclone were residents of a sizable slum on the outskirts of Mamoudzou. Some had lost friends, and many had lost their homes.
When the cyclone struck, Nassirou Hamidouni sought refuge in his home.
When his house collapsed on him and his six children, his neighbor was killed. To get to them, Hamidouni and others combed among the debris.
Now attempting to repair his own house, which was also devastated, is the 28-year-old father of five.
Given the severity of what he experienced, he thinks the death toll is significantly higher than what is officially stated.
He remarked, “It was very hard,”
According to 25-year-old mother of four Alibouna Haithouna, her family has been forced to leave the slums and has taken refuge in a school.
She stated that the hurricane killed her brother and that “a lot of paperwork” and the requirement to pay to retrieve the body have prevented her from retrieving his remains from the hospital.
