{"id":39481,"date":"2024-12-15T07:07:26","date_gmt":"2024-12-15T12:07:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/at-least-11-dead-after-cyclone-hits-mayotte\/15\/12\/2024\/"},"modified":"2024-12-15T07:07:26","modified_gmt":"2024-12-15T12:07:26","slug":"at-least-11-dead-after-cyclone-hits-mayotte","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/at-least-11-dead-after-cyclone-hits-mayotte\/15\/12\/2024\/","title":{"rendered":"At least 11 dead after cyclone hits Mayotte"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n<\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">France&#8217;s Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte has been struck by the worst cyclone to hit the islands in nearly a century.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">At least 11 people were reportedly killed when Cyclone Chido made landfall on Saturday, causing wind gusts of more than 225km\/h (140mph), with fears the death toll could rise.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">French President Emmanuel Macron said France would &#8220;be there&#8221; for the people of Mayotte, while French officials said 250 firefighters and security personnel would be sent to the islands, with some having already arrived.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">France&#8217;s interior minister Bruno Retailleau said &#8220;all makeshift homes have been completely destroyed&#8221; and he feared a &#8220;heavy&#8221; death toll.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"col-body mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-[4] size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>[AFP]<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">One<a href=\"https:\/\/www.comoresinfos.net\/cyclone-chido-11-morts-confirmes-et-des-centaines-de-blesses-a-mayotte\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:local news source reported;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"> local news source reported<\/a> that 11 people were killed and 246 injured, based on a hospital report.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">AFP reported a higher death toll &#8211; at least 14 &#8211; citing a security source.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">Located north-west of Madagascar, Mayotte is an archipelago comprised of one main island, Grand-Terre, and several smaller ones.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">Most of the island&#8217;s 300,000 or so inhabitants live in shacks with sheet metal roofs, and tens of thousands of people have lost their homes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">Electricity, water and internet connections are all down. The government in Paris has sent a military transport plane with supplies and emergency workers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">The territory&#8217;s Pamandzi airport &#8220;suffered major damage, especially to the control tower,&#8221; acting French Transport Minister Francois Durovray wrote on X.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">Air traffic &#8220;will be restored initially with military aid planes. Ships are on the way to ensure resupply,&#8221; he added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">Even before the cyclone hit with full force on Saturday morning, there were reports of trees being uprooted, roofs being ripped off buildings and power lines being downed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">The head of Mayotte&#8217;s firefighters&#8217; union, Abdoul Karim Ahmed Allaoui, told the BFM news channel on Saturday morning that &#8220;even emergency responders are locked down&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">He continued: &#8220;There&#8217;s no mobile phone service and we can&#8217;t reach people on the island. Even buildings built to earthquake standards haven&#8217;t held up.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">&#8220;The emergency services command centre has been evacuated and is functioning at partial capacity.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">Interior Minister Retailleau wrote in a statement on X: &#8220;I offer my full support to the people of Mayotte. The state and local emergency services are fully mobilized. 110 civil security personnel and firefighters have already been sent and are on site. A second dispatch will be made tomorrow with 140 additional personnel.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">French Prime Minister Fran\u00e7ois Bayrou, who took up the post on Friday, said the cyclone was of &#8220;exceptional severity&#8221; and he was being updated on the situation &#8220;hour by hour&#8221;. He has held an emergency meeting in Paris with ministers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">Mayotte was initially placed under a purple alert &#8211; the highest level &#8211; and a &#8220;strict lockdown for the whole population, including emergency services&#8221; was imposed. It has since been lowered to red to allow emergency services to leave their bases.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">Retailleau said the island had not experienced such severe weather since 1934.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">After hitting Mayotte, the storm intensified overnight as it crossed the Mozambique Channel.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">The coastal city of Pemba has been battered by heavy rains and winds gusting up to 185km\/h (115mph).<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">Videos on social media showed parts of Pemba city were flooded, trees uprooted and some homes damaged.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">The cyclone is now moving inland, with heavy rains reported in neighbouring Nampula province.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">While the winds are expected to ease, heavy rain and flooding are also predicted for southern Malawi and later Zimbabwe.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\"><em>Additional reporting by Richard Kagoe<\/em><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"col-body mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl\">More on this story<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/france-sends-help-mayotte-island-145240045.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>France&rsquo;s Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte has been struck by the worst cyclone to hit the islands in nearly a century. At<br \/><button class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/at-least-11-dead-after-cyclone-hits-mayotte\/15\/12\/2024\/\">Read More &rsaquo;<\/a><\/button><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39483,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39481"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39481"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39481\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}