An overnight curfew was declared by French authorities in the ocean territory of Mayotte on Tuesday as they sought to stabilize the islands and prevent looting in the wake of Cyclone Chido.
France’s military says it is sending four to five planes a day with up to 50 tons of assistance, including food, water, and medical supplies, as they try to cope after the strongest storm to hit the island in nine decades devastated France’s poorest territory off the African coast.
Hundreds of military personnel have arrived in the archipelago as the official death toll rises to 22, but authorities fear the true figure is hundreds, or possibly thousands more.
French President Emmanuel Macron is due to travel to the islands on Thursday.
“Our compatriots are living through the worst just a few thousand kilometers away, and I will be by their side in a few hours in Mayotte,” he said in a statement.
“The priority today is water and food,” Ambdilwahedou Soumaila, the mayor of the capital, Mamoudzou, told RFI radio, adding that “there are people who have unfortunately died where the bodies are starting to decompose that can create a sanitary problem.”
Soumaila said the curfew, which requires people to stay in their homes between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m., is being imposed to prevent looting.
“We don’t have electricity. When night falls, there are people who take advantage of that situation,” he said.
Nearly 70 percent of Mayotte’s population has been impacted, with entire neighborhoods reduced to rubble.
France’s Interior Ministry says that 80 percent of telecom services are currently down, making communication across the archipelago difficult, and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said it has lost contact with more than 200 volunteers.
French military aircraft are delivering water and food daily, while the main hospital is still severely damaged,
A field hospital is expected to be set up on Thursday as the head of the medical aid group Medecins du Monde (MDM) warned that there is risk of a cholera epidemic breaking out.
“Cholera is circulating,” MDM Director Jean-François Corty told the Associated Press.
“It might turn into an epidemic if there is no way to ensure efficient access to water,” he added.
Earlier this year, the island suffered a highly drug-resistant outbreak of the disease.
Many of the victims on the island are believed to be migrants, as Mayotte is a hotbed for illegal migration in the area, owing to the fact it is legally part of France.
“The real toll of those swept away by the mud, winds, and tin from shanty towns will never be known,” Mayotte lawmaker Estelle Youssouffa said.
“This population, by definition undocumented migrants, are the main victims of this tragedy because they feared going to shelters.”
Youssouffa said she spoke to an imam on Monday, who reported burying more than 30 people in a single day in La Vigie, a makeshift settlement.
The French government has released an initial 655,000 euros ($687,000) to finance urgent needs on the island and Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, has pledged 250,000 euros ($262,000) from the capital’s emergency fund.
But the repercussions are also being felt back in Paris. Just days after taking office, newly minted Prime Minister Francois Bayrou has faced criticism over his handling of the crisis.
Critics have blasted his decision not to travel to Mayotte or attend a crisis meeting in person, choosing instead to chair a town hall in Pau, where he also serves as mayor.
Bayrou responded by saying he participated in the meeting via video link and worked closely with Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, who is on the ground in Mayotte, saying that his current focus has been on forming a new government.
