Comoros announced a week of national mourning on Monday following the devastation caused by Cyclone Chido in nearby Mayotte, where officials are concerned about “several hundred” fatalities, particularly in makeshift settlements populated by many Comorans.
President Azali Assoumani said that the mourning period would extend until Sunday in the Indian Ocean islands, where numerous lives were lost, and the infrastructure experienced “enormous” destruction.
Mayotte, a neighbouring island in the archipelago that chose to remain French during two referendums in 1974 and 1976 when Comoros sought independence, endured winds exceeding 220 kilometres per hour on Saturday.
The two territories are separated by just 70 kilometres, and according to French government figures from 2017, around half of Mayotte’s official population of 320,000 consists of overseas residents, with 95 per cent being Comoran.
A source close to the officials in Mayotte said that an estimated 100,000 to 200,000 individuals inhabit the island due to irregular immigration. However, few undocumented migrants sought refuge in accommodation centres before the cyclone struck “likely out of fear of being checked,” the source noted.
Cyclone Chido is the most severe storm to impact Mayotte in 90 years. Classified as a category four hurricane—the second highest on a five-point scale—it traversed the small archipelago, where approximately one-third of the population resides in improvised shelters.
