Mayotte Cyclone Survivors Recount Devastation and Struggle for Aid

When Cyclone Chido struck Mayotte, a French territory in the Indian Ocean, Zinedine was at his residence, a modest dwelling constructed from corrugated iron and wood, shared with eight family members. Although Zinedine had received an official cyclone alert, he initially dismissed its severity. He stated, “I thought it was like in previous years when they warned that a cyclone was coming but it would just be a bit of rain. So we stayed home.” This particular event, however, brought winds exceeding 124mph (200km/h) to the island, marking it as the most powerful cyclone to affect the region in nearly a century. French officials have reported 31 confirmed fatalities to date, with thousands of additional individuals presumed missing. Upon receiving a subsequent, more urgent cyclone warning, Zinedine promptly reacted. He recounted, “I told my mum it’s never happened before that they send a message like this so I think this time it’s serious.” He proposed relocating to their neighbours’ residence, a sturdy bricks and mortar house situated nearby in a low-income area high in the hills of Petite Terre, Mayotte’s smaller island. His mother, however, was reluctant to leave, and Zinedine felt compelled to remain with his family. As the eldest male in his family, the 20-year-old tourism student expressed a sense of responsibility for their well-being. As the storm commenced, he and his mother concealed his younger siblings beneath a table. Subsequently, a loud sound occurred. He described, “The iron roofing of our house flew off. We panicked and looked for shelter. There were iron sheets, wood and other big objects flying everywhere.” After escorting his siblings to the neighbour’s shelter, he observed that his mother had not followed. He stated, “I decided to go back outside to get my mother even though it was dangerous with the wind and everything. I’d rather die than leave my mum to die.” His mother remained inside their damaged home, clutching a one-year-old infant. Overcome with fear, she refused to release the baby. Zinedine retrieved the child from her grasp and quickly delivered him to the neighbours. Ultimately, he had to physically remove his mother from the dwelling. He remarked, “Luckily we’re all safe but we’ve lost everything. The only things we were able to save were our papers and diplomas.” Currently, he is endeavoring to reconstruct his family’s residence. The procurement of new construction materials in Mayotte is presently highly challenging due to elevated demand. Unable to afford new roofing for his house, he located some of the corrugated iron sheets displaced by the storm and intends to repurpose them. He commented, “I’m trying to do what I can. Even though I’m not a builder, I want to do it myself because I don’t know if the authorities will help us.” Throughout Mayotte, numerous individuals, similar to Zinedine, are undertaking comparable efforts, with the sound of hammers resonating late into the evening. Despite the resourcefulness demonstrated by Mayotte’s residents, they also express dissatisfaction regarding the perceived insufficient support from the government. On Thursday, during French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to the islands, he encountered boos while attempting to deliver a speech. During his visit to a hospital, staff members voiced their frustration about being overwhelmed. Five days following the cyclone, the majority of individuals interviewed in Mayotte had not yet received any governmental assistance. Yasmine Moussa, an 18-year-old mother of three, stated, “We’ve only received food donations from volunteers who’ve also given us clothes and water. The mayor’s office tried to help a bit but that’s it.” She transported her three sons, the youngest being three months old, to the nearest shelter, a secondary school in the Labattoir neighbourhood, soon after the storm warning was issued on Friday afternoon. She recounted, “On the day of the cyclone my children were crying because of the noise. When we looked outside we saw corrugated iron roofs flying everywhere. They kept asking me what was happening, why everything was breaking.” She added, “I said to them it’s just wind and rain but the next day when they saw everything was destroyed. They couldn’t sleep that night.” Upon returning to her residence, she found her neighbourhood almost unrecognizable. “Mango trees had fallen during the storm and were blocking the roads. My neighbour had to point my house out to me because I couldn’t even spot it. There was water everywhere, the toilet was broken, my TV, everything was ruined. I tried to save what I could.” She expressed, “I was in tears, I never imagined this would happen.” Currently, she has no alternative accommodation. She described the shelter conditions as adequate but emphasized her need for a house for her children. They now sleep on mattresses in a school classroom alongside approximately twelve other families. She voiced concerns, stating, “It’s not normal to sleep like this. The doors don’t lock and sometimes strangers walk in. I worry for my children’s safety and that they will try to steal from us.” The Red Cross informed the BBC that a minimum of 100,000 individuals are housed in shelters across Mayotte. President Macron has pledged compensation for the uninsured, who constitute the majority of the populace, though the specific amounts have not been disclosed. The scale of needs is immense, requiring the reconstruction of nearly all the islands. However, certain figures on the political right in France contend that excessive expenditure in Mayotte could incentivize an increase in undocumented migrants arriving in the French territory. Returning to La Vigie, Zinedine acknowledged these objections but expressed his disagreement, stating, “We’re humans at the end of the day. And we need help.” This content is copyrighted by BBC, 2024. All rights are reserved. The BBC bears no responsibility for the content found on external sites. Information regarding their approach to external linking is available.