The French island area hit by Hurricane Chido

The French island of Mayotte, located in the Indian Ocean, was hit by the worst hurricane to hit the islands in nearly a century.

At least 11 people were reported to have died when Typhoon Chido made landfall on Saturday, packing wind gusts of more than 225 kilometers per hour (140 mph), with the death toll feared to rise.

French President Emmanuel Macron said France would “be there” for the people of Mayotte, while French officials said 250 firefighters and security personnel would be sent to the islands, some of whom have already arrived.

French Interior Minister Bruno Ritello said that “all temporary homes were completely destroyed” and expressed his fear that the death toll would rise.

one A local news source reported 11 people were killed and more than 200 others were injured, according to the hospital report.

Agence France-Presse reported that the death toll was higher – at least 14 – citing a security source.

Mayotte is located northwest of Madagascar. It is an archipelago consisting of one main island, Grande Terre, and many smaller islands.

Most of the island’s 300,000 or so residents live in shacks with metal sheet roofs, and tens of thousands of people have lost their homes.

Electricity, water and internet connections are all down. The government in Paris sent a military transport plane loaded with supplies and emergency workers.

Acting French Transport Minister François Durouvray wrote on the X website that Bamandzi Airport in the province “suffered severe damage, especially to the control tower.”

He added that air traffic “will return initially with military aid planes. Ships are on the way to ensure the return of supplies.”

Even before the hurricane struck with full force on Saturday morning, there were reports of trees being uprooted, roofs ripped off and power lines toppled.

“Even emergency responders are trapped,” the head of the Mayotte firefighters’ union, Abdelkarim Ahmed Allaoui, told BFM news channel Saturday morning.

He continued: “There is no mobile phone service and we cannot reach people on the island. Even the buildings built according to earthquake standards did not hold up.”

“The emergency services command center has been evacuated and is fully operational.”

Interior Minister Ritello wrote in a statement on the .

French Prime Minister François Bayrou, who took office on Friday, said the hurricane was “extremely dangerous” and he was being kept informed of the situation “hour by hour”. He held an emergency meeting in Paris with the ministers.

Mayotte was initially placed under purple alert – the highest level – and a “strict lockdown was imposed on the entire population, including emergency services.” It has since been downgraded to red to allow emergency services to leave their bases.

Ritello said the island had not seen such extreme weather since 1934.

Cyclone Chido is also expected to hit Mozambique on the African mainland.