Families are scrambling to help after a deadly cyclone ripped through the French territory of Mayotte near Africa

MAMUDZU, Mayotte — Relatives of families suffering after Cyclone Chido On Wednesday, a day before the French president and another 180 tonnes of aid were expected to arrive, helplessness was expressed across the French island of Mayotte.

Some survivors and aid groups described hasty burials, the stench of bodies and the devastation of unstable informal settlements, whose migrant populations make it even more difficult to determine the death toll.

“A disaster of exceptional intensity,” French authorities said in an updated report on Wednesday. “The island is devastated.” There were 31 confirmed deaths, but it said the Muslim practice of burying within 24 hours could mean the actual death toll is far different.

Mayotte, located in the Indian Ocean off the east coast of Africa The poorest area of ​​France and a magnet for migrants hoping to reach Europe. This week, the French interior minister has already suggested taking action.

There was a cyclone on Saturday deadly storm hit the territory almost a century later. It devastated entire neighborhoods on the islands with winds of more than 220 km/h (136 mph), according to the French meteorological service. Many people ignored the cyclone warnings, believing that the storm would not be that strong.

Residents now scramble across the landscape in search of food as telecommunications remain weak and even fortified structures, including medical centers, have been damaged.

Driving through the streets of Mayotte, AP reporters saw destroyed houses, fallen trees and people queuing for water. Dozens of French soldiers set up a temporary camp at the airport.

French Prime Minister Francois Bairro said on Tuesday that more than 1,500 people had been injured, including more than 200 in critical condition, but authorities feared that hundreds and possibly thousands had died. Authorities said around 100,000 were living in “precarious conditions”.

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

“It’s hard because I feel helpless,” said 19-year-old Khaira Jumoi Tani.

Anrafa Parasuramin also has family in Mayotte. “We also fear disease outbreaks because people drink water wherever they can get it, and it’s not necessarily potable water,” she said.

Health Minister Genevieve Dariessek has expressed concern about the risk of a cholera epidemic in the archipelago, where an outbreak of a highly drug-resistant strain of the disease occurred earlier this year.

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

French Foreign Minister Francois-Noël Buffett told France’s Europe 1 radio that airlifted aid had begun to be distributed across Mayotte.

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

The Mayotte hospital was badly damaged. The field hospital should be operational early next week, Buffett said.

A navy ship was due to arrive in Mayotte on Thursday with 180 tons of aid and equipment, the French military said. But the main airport could not accept commercial flights due to the damage. The road network was also significantly damaged.

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

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

On Tuesday night, public broadcaster France 2’s program raised 5 million euros ($5.24 million) in Mayotte aid through the Foundation of France charity, the channel said.

___

Corbet reported from Paris.