Cyclone in Mayotte: “certainly several hundred” dead, according to the prefect

2024-12-16 08:43:00

Cyclone Chido caused “certainly several hundred” deaths in Mayotte, “perhaps” even “a few thousand”, the prefect of the French overseas department said on Sunday, specifying that it will be “very difficult” to have a definitive toll.

“I think it will definitely be several hundred, maybe we will approach a thousand, or even a few thousand” deaths, François-Xavier Bieuville said on public broadcaster Mayotte la 1ère. It will be “very difficult to have a definitive assessment” given that Muslim tradition, very much anchored in the precarious housing areas that were completely destroyed, wants people to be buried “within 24 hours”.