Several hundred feared dead after cyclone in French territory of Mayotte

Mayotte suffered extensive damage during the worst cyclone to hit the region in almost a century, as ITV News' Graham Stothard reports

Several hundred people are feared dead after a powerful cyclone hit the French territory of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean.

The island's top official, Mayotte Prefect François-Xavier Bieuville, told TV station Mayotte la 1ere: “I think there are some several hundred dead, maybe we’ll get close to a thousand. Even thousands. ... Given the violence of this event.″

He said it was extremely difficult to get an exact number after the Indian Ocean island was hit by Cyclone Chido on Saturday, causing widespread destruction.

The French Interior Ministry confirmed at least 11 deaths and more than 250 injuries in Mayotte earlier Sunday but said that was expected to increase substantially.

The intense tropical cyclone - the worst to hit Mayotte in 90 years - also affected the nearby islands of Comoros and Madagascar.

It has now made landfall on the east coast of Africa, and aid agencies are warning of more deaths in Mozambique.

According to the French weather service, Chido brought winds in excess of 136mph, making it a category 4 cyclone, the second strongest on the scale.

France's Interior Ministry said it was proving difficult to get a precise number of the dead and injured. A local hospital reported that nine people were in critical condition there and 246 others were injured.

Prime Minister François Bayrou, who took office on Friday, said public infrastructure in Mayotte had been severely damaged or destroyed, including the main hospital and the airport.

French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said Saturday night after an emergency meeting in Paris that there were fears that the death toll in Mayotte “will be high” and the island had been largely devastated.

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More than 300,000 people live in Mayotte - spread over two main islands about 800 kilometres off Africa's east coast.

It is France's poorest island and the European Union's poorest territory. In some parts, entire neighbourhoods were flattened, while local residents reported many trees had been uprooted and boats had been flipped or sunk.The French Interior Ministry said 1,600 police and gendarmerie officers have been deployed to “help the population and prevent potential looting.”

Chido continued its eastern trajectory and made landfall early Sunday in Mozambique on the African mainland, where emergency officials had warned that 2.5 million people could be impacted in two northern provinces, Cabo Delgado and Nampula.

Landlocked Malawi and Zimbabwe are also preparing to be affected, with both countries warning they might have to evacuate people from low-lying areas because of flooding.

In Mozambique, the United Nations Children's Fund said Cabo Delgado province, home to around 2 million people, had been hit hard.“Many homes, schools and health facilities have been partially or completely destroyed and we are working closely with government to ensure continuity of essential basic services,” UNICEF said. “While we are doing everything we can, additional support is urgently needed.”

December through to March is cyclone season in the southeastern Indian Ocean and southern Africa has been pummeled by a series of strong ones in recent years.

Cyclone Idai in 2019 killed more than 1,300 people in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe. Cyclone Freddy left more than 1,000 dead across several countries last year.The cyclones bring the risk of flooding and landslides, but also stagnant pools of water may later spark deadly outbreaks of the waterborne disease cholera as well as dengue fever and malaria.

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