France counts cyclone cost as aid reaches Mayotte

MAMOUDZOU, FRANCE:

French authorities Wednesday searched for survivors and raced to supply aid as they sought to work out the full scale of the devastation wrought by Cyclone Chido on the Indian Ocean archipelago of Mayotte.

French President Emmanuel Macron will be in Mayotte on Thursday, his office announced, as officials warned of a death toll reaching hundreds -- possibly even thousands -- from the most destructive cyclone to hit it in 90 years.

After the French overseas territory emerged from a first night under curfew, rescuers raced to find survivors in the ruins of shantytowns while also unblocking roads and clearing rubble.

Bulldozers were clearing the heliport of the island's only hospital, while residents were busy repairing their metal-sheet huts.

Cyclone Chido was the latest in a string of storms worldwide fuelled by climate change, according to meteorologists.

Experts say seasonal storms are being super-charged by warmer Indian Ocean waters, fuelling faster, more destructive winds. Authorities imposed a nightly curfew to prevent looting.

A preliminary toll from France's interior ministry shows that 31 people were confirmed killed, 45 seriously wounded and 1,373 suffering lighter injuries.

But officials said the toll could rise exponentially.

"What I fear is that the toll will be far too high," said French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau who visited Mayotte on Monday. AFP