Families scramble to help after deadly cyclone rips through French territory of Mayotte off Africa

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On the French island of Reunion, communities are coming together to help the people of cyclone devastated Mayotte. People have been donating food, water, clothes and other assistance. Some of that is being collected at a community centre called Mayotte House. (AP Video by Sam Mednick)

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The French interior minister said on Monday that the French island of Mayotte had been “totally devastated” by Cyclone Chido.

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People lineup to collect water Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024 in the French Indian Ocean island of Mayotte. (AP Photo/Adrienne Surprenant)

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This photo provided by the French Interior Ministry shows French gendarmes unloading supplies in Koungou, in the Indian Ocean French territory of Mayotte, Wednesday Dec.18, 2024. (Ministere de l’Interieur/Gendarmerie Nationale via AP)

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French firemen stand on the tarmac of the airport Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024 in the French Indian Ocean island of Mayotte. (AP Photo/Adrienne Surprenant)

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This undated satellite photo provided Wednesday Dec.18, 2024 by the Institut Geographique National (IGN) shows the port of Mamoudzou, in the Indian Ocean French territory of Mayotte, before the cyclone Chido. (IGN via AP)

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People bring goods for victims of cyclone Chido in Mayotte at the House of Mayotte, in Saint-Denis, Réunion Island, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Adrienne Surprenant)

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Volunteers sort through donations for victims of cyclone Chido in Mayotte at the House of Mayotte, in Saint-Denis, Réunion Island, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Adrienne Surprenant)

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This undated satellite photo provided on Wednesday Dec. 18, 2024 by the Institut Geographique National (IGN), left, and the Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES) shows Doujani, before, left, and after the cyclone Chido in the Indian Ocean French territory of Mayotte. (IGN/CNES distributed by Airbus DS via AP)

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Volunteers sort through donations for victims of cyclone Chido in Mayotte at the House of Mayotte, in Saint-Denis, Réunion Island, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Adrienne Surprenant)

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Volunteers sort through donations for victims of cyclone Chido in Mayotte at the House of Mayotte, in Saint-Denis, Réunion Island, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Adrienne Surprenant)

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Volunteers sort through donations for victims of cyclone Chido in Mayotte at the House of Mayotte, in Saint-Denis, Réunion Island, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Adrienne Surprenant)

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Smoke rises from destroyed dwellings Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024 in the French Indian Ocean island of Mayotte. (AP Photo/Adrienne Surprenant)

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This undated photo provided Tuesday Dec. 17, 2024 by the French Interior Ministry shows devastated houses in the French territory of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean, after the island was battered by its worst cyclone in nearly a century, (Ministere de l’Interieur/Gendarmerie Nationale via AP)

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This undated photo provided Tuesday Dec. 17, 2024 by the French Interior Ministry shows gendarmes clearing a road in the French territory of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean, after the island was battered by its worst cyclone in nearly a century, (Ministere de l’Interieur/Gendarmerie Nationale via AP)

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This satellite photo provided Wednesday Dec.18, 2024 by the Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES) shows Doujani in the Indian Ocean the French territory of Mayotte, on Dec. 15, 2024, after the cyclone Chido. (CNES distributed by Airbus DS via AP)

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This undated satellite photo provided on Wednesday Dec. 18, 2024 by the Institut Geographique National (IGN), left, and the Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES) shows Mtsapere, before and after of the cyclone Chido in the Indian Ocean French territory of Mayotte. (IGN/CNES distributed by Airbus DS via AP)

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This undated satellite photo provided on Wednesday Dec. 18, 2024 by the Institut Geographique National (IGN), left, and the Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES) shows Bandrajou, before and after of the cyclone Chido in the Indian Ocean French territory of Mayotte. (IGN/CNES distributed by Airbus DS via AP)

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This undated satellite photo provided on Wednesday Dec. 18, 2024 by the Institut Geographique National (IGN), left, and the Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES) shows the port of Mamoudzou, before and after of the cyclone Chido in the Indian Ocean French territory of Mayotte. (IGN/CNES distributed by Airbus DS via AP)

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This satellite photo provided on Wednesday Dec. 18, 2024 by the Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES) shows Mtsapere in the Indian Ocean the French territory of Mayotte, on Dec. 15, 2024, after the cyclone Chido. (CNES distributed by Airbus DS via AP)

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This undated satellite photo provided on Wednesday Dec. 18, 2024 by the Institut Geographique National (IGN) shows Mtsapere, in the Indian Ocean French territory of Mayotte, before the cyclone Chido. (IGN via AP)

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This undated satellite photo provided on Wednesday Dec. 18, 2024 by the Institut Geographique National (IGN) shows Doujani in the Indian Ocean French territory of Mayotte, before the cyclone Chido. (IGN via AP)

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This satellite photo provided on Wednesday Dec. 18, 2024 by the Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES) shows the port of Mamoudzou in the Indian Ocean the French territory of Mayotte, on Dec. 15, 2024, after the cyclone Chido. (CNES distributed by Airbus DS via AP)

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This undated satellite photo provided on Wednesday Dec. 18, 2024 by the Institut Geographique National (IGN) shows Bandrajou, in the Indian Ocean French territory of Mayotte, before the cyclone Chido. (IGN via AP)

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This satellite photo provided on Wednesday Dec. 18, 2024 by the Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES) shows Bandrajou in the Indian Ocean the French territory of Mayotte, on Dec.15, 2024, after the cyclone Chido. (CNES distributed by Airbus DS via AP)

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French troops arrive to give support Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024 in the French Indian Ocean island of Mayotte. (AP Photo/Adrienne Surprenant)

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Smoke rises from destroyed dwellings Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024 in the French Indian Ocean island of Mayotte. (AP Photo/Adrienne Surprenant)

By SAM MEDNICK, ADRIENNE SURPRENANT and SYLVIE CORBET

MAMOUDZOU, Mayotte (AP) — Relatives of families struggling after Cyclone Chido ripped through the French island territory of Mayotte expressed helplessness Wednesday, a day before France’s president and another 180 tons of aid were expected to arrive.

Some survivors and aid groups have described hasty burials, the stench of bodies and the devastation of precarious informal settlements whose population of migrants makes it even more challenging to determine the number of dead.

Mayotte, in the Indian Ocean off Africa’s east coast, is France’s poorest territory and a magnet for migrants hoping to reach Europe. Already, France’s interior minister this week has proposed cracking down.

The cyclone on Saturday was the deadliest storm to strike the territory in nearly a century. It devastated entire neighborhoods on the collection of islands with winds that exceeded 220 kph (136 mph), according to the French weather service. Many people had ignored cyclone warnings, thinking the storm would not be so extreme.

Now residents pick their way across a landscape in search of food as telecommunications remain tenuous and even sturdily built structures including health centers have been damaged.

Not PARSE.LY: Mayotte

Cyclone Chido leaves Mayotte reeling. Warmer oceans fueled it

Authorities impose overnight curfew in cyclone-ravaged Mayotte as France rushes in aid

French president announces national mourning period after cyclone slams island territory of Mayotte, and will visit

Driving the streets of Mayotte, AP reporters saw destroyed houses, felled trees and people lining up for water. Dozens of French military personnel set up a makeshift camp at the airport.

French Prime Minister François Bayrou on Tuesday said more than 1,500 people were injured, including more than 200 critically, but authorities fear hundreds and possibly thousands of people have died.

On the French island of Reunion about a three-hour flight away, loved ones were coming together to donate aid for survivors. Some said their families in Mayotte had no food or water and roofs were blown off houses. It had taken days to make contact with some.

“It is difficult because I feel helpless,” said Khayra Djoumoi Thany, 19.

Anrafa Parassouramin also has family in Mayotte. “We are also afraid of disease outbreaks, because people are drinking water from wherever they can get it, and it’s not necessarily potable water,” she said.

Health Minister Geneviève Darrieussecq has raised concerns about the risk of a cholera epidemic on the archipelago which earlier this year had an outbreak of a highly drug-resistant strain of the disease.

French authorities said the distribution of 23 tons of water began Wednesday.

The French minister for overseas matters, François-Noël Buffet, told French radio Europe 1 that aid brought by plane has started being allocated to locations across Mayotte.

The minister said the water supply system was “working at 50%” and presented a risk of “poor quality.” Electricity had partially resumed.

Mayotte’s hospital was badly damaged. A field hospital should be operational by early next week, Buffet said.

A Navy ship was due to arrive in Mayotte on Thursday with 180 tons of aid and equipment, according to the French military.

French President Emmanuel Macron will travel to Mayotte on Thursday and visit a hospital and a destroyed neighborhood, his office said. “Our compatriots are living through the worst just a few thousand kilometers away,” Macron said in a statement.

Some residents of Mayotte have long criticized the French government of neglect.

On Tuesday evening, a program on public broadcaster France 2 raised 5 million euros ($5.24 million) in aid for Mayotte through the Foundation of France charity, the channel said.

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Corbet reported from Paris.