Rescuers searched desperately for survivors as they sought to assess the full scale of devastation wrought by Cyclone Chido on the French overseas territory of Mayotte, which emerged on Wednesday from a first night spent under curfew.
French President Emmanuel Macron "will be in Mayotte on Thursday", his office announced late on Tuesday, as authorities anticipate a death toll reaching hundreds -- possibly even thousands -- from the most destructive cyclone to hit the Indian Ocean archipelago in 90 years.
The true scale of the disaster is still being assessed as rescuers raced to find survivors in the ruins of slums such as those in the capital Mamoudzou, while also unblocking roads and clearing rubble and downed trees.
A curfew from 10:00 pm to 4:00 am (1900 GMT to 0100 GMT) was imposed as a security measure to prevent looting.
A preliminary toll from France's interior ministry shows that 22 people were confirmed killed and 1,373 injured. New French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou told parliament on Tuesday there were "200 badly wounded and 1,500 wounded in a relative state of urgency".
"This toll could rise. We all know this," he said.
"I have never seen a disaster of this magnitude on national soil," Bayrou said later in a post on social media platform X.
Mayotte, located off southeastern Africa near Madagascar, is France's poorest region. An estimated one-third of its population lives in shantytowns whose flimsy sheet metal-roofed homes offered scant protection against the storm.
Cyclone Chido, which hit Mayotte on Saturday before barrelling on to Mozambique, was the latest in a string of storms worldwide fuelled by climate change.
Experts say seasonal storms are being super-charged by warmer Indian Ocean waters, fuelling more powerful windspeeds.
'Crushed everything'
At Pamandzi, a small commune located off the main island, sheet metal debris and destroyed wooden structures were strewn as far as the eye could see.
Health services across Mayotte are in tatters, while power and mobile phone services have been knocked out.
The airport is closed to civilian flights and there is mounting concern over how to ensure supplies of drinking water.
Bayrou said in Paris progress was being made with about 50 percent of the electricity network restarted, with a target of 75 percent "by the end of the week".
Macron, who chaired a crisis meeting on Monday night, was initially due to take part in a Brussels summit with EU leaders, but cut short his trip to go to Mayotte.
French military support
Mayotte is one of several French overseas territories. Much of its population is Muslim and religious tradition dictates that bodies must be buried rapidly, meaning some may never be counted.
Assessing the toll is further complicated by irregular immigration to Mayotte, especially from the Comoros islands to the north, meaning much of the population is not even registered.
French military planes have been shuttling between Mayotte and the island of La Reunion, also a French overseas territory, to the east that was spared the cyclone and is serving as the hub for rescue efforts.
The French navy support and assistance vessel Champlain, which set sail from La Reunion, is also due to arrive in Mayotte on Thursday morning with 180 tonnes of freight on board.
With AFP
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