Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
French Prime Minister Francois Bairroux believes dozens of people died when Cyclone Chida hit the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte on December 14, not thousands as some had feared.
Bayrou told BFMTV that he thought “the alarming and sometimes terrifying figures put forward would not be borne out by reality”.
The confirmed death toll in Mayotte so far stands at 35, but in the immediate aftermath of the cyclone local prefect Francois-Xavier Beauville feared it would “definitely be a few hundred” and could reach thousands.
On Tuesday, the prefect told France Info radio that investigations in this area were going well, which “allows us to think that we will confirm this figure of 35”.
Defending his initial remarks, Beauville insisted that “I was never a panic-monger, I just couldn’t tell the number of casualties.”
Officials said it was difficult to determine the extent of casualties from the disaster 10 days ago because many areas of Mayotte were inaccessible and victims were buried within 24 hours in accordance with Islamic custom.
There is also uncertainty about the true population of Mayotte, a French territory in the Indian Ocean.
Officially, it has a population of 320,000, but authorities estimate that between 100,000 and 200,000 undocumented migrants may also be living there.
“I think (the death toll) will be in the tens, not the thousands,” the prime minister told BFMTV on Monday night.
The archipelago is one of the poorest parts of France, with many of its inhabitants living in slums.
Cyclone Chida was the strongest storm to hit the area in 90 years, packing winds of up to 260 km/h (160 mph) and flattening areas where people lived in shacks with metal roofs.
A day of national mourning was declared in France on Monday after the cyclone. President Emmanuel Macron visited the area last week and his angry locals demanded more aid in the devastated areas.
Some of the survivors were without water, communication or electricity for a week.
Authorities restored water to major points in the area on Tuesday, Beauville said. “Even if this water is sometimes a little difficult to deliver, our fellow citizens have water.”
He also said that there is no more fuel shortage and cars can be refueled.
Earlier, the Prime Minister said that the field hospital will also be operational by Tuesday morning.
Cyclone Chido moves into mainland Africa after hitting Mayotte, killing 120 in Mozambique and 13 in Malawi.
