At least 11 people have died after Cyclone Chido caused devastating damage in the French territory of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean, France’s Interior Ministry said Sunday.
The ministry said it was proving difficult to get a precise tally of the dead and injured amid fears the death toll will increase.
A hospital in Mayotte reported that nine people were in critical condition in the hospital and 246 others were injured.
The tropical cyclone blew through the southeastern Indian Ocean, also affecting the nearby islands of Comoros and Madagascar.
Mayotte was directly in the path of the cyclone and suffered extensive damage on Saturday, officials said. It reportedly was the worst cyclone to hit Mayotte in 90 years
French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said Saturday night after an emergency meeting in Paris that there were fears that the death toll in Mayotte “will be high.”
Chido brought winds in excess of 136 mph, according to the French weather service, ripping metal roofs off houses and destroying many small structures in Mayotte, which has a population of just over 300,000 spread over two main islands about 500 miles off Africa’s east coast.
In some parts, entire neighborhoods were flattened, while local residents reported many trees had been uprooted and boats had been flipped or sunk.
The main airport also suffered major damage, the French transport minister said.
France’s poorest island, Mayotte has previously struggled with drought and underinvestment.
Chido has now made landfall in Mozambique on the African mainland, where emergency officials had warned that 2.5 million people could be impacted in two northern provinces.
Landlocked countries Malawi and Zimbabwe have also made plans and are preparing to be affected, with both countries warning they might have to evacuate people from low-lying areas because of flooding.
A series of strong cyclones have hit the southeastern Indian Ocean in recent years, including Cyclone Idai in 2019 that left more than 1,500 people dead in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe.
