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French military help begins to show up in cyclone-battered Mayotte

Emergency situation employees raced on Monday to restore standard services to the French abroad territory of Mayotte, where hundreds or perhaps thousands are feared dead from the most powerful cyclone to strike the Indian Ocean island in almost a century.

Maritime and aerial operations were underway to transport relief materials and devices, French authorities said late on Sunday, after Cyclone Chido slammed into the islands with winds of more than 200 kph (124 mph).

The first intervention planes get here in Mayotte to provide emergency help in the face of the damage brought on by the cyclone. The State is fully mobilised to support the occupants of Mayotte in this ordeal, Nicolas Daragon, France's minister for everyday security, stated on X.

The extent of casualties and physical damage on the islands, which lie between Madagascar and Mozambique, stayed unclear.

The prefect of Mayotte, Francois-Xavier Bieuville, said on Sunday that the death toll would certainly be several hundreds, perhaps we will reach a thousand, even a number of thousands.

Authorities had actually also developed an air bridge between Mayotte and Reunion Island, another French overseas area on the opposite of Madagascar, said Sebastien Lecornu, the French minister of the armed forces.

For the lodging of emergency situation services, three structures efficient in accommodating 150 people are on website, with an extra one presently on its method, Lecornu stated on X late Sunday, including that military rations and generators were also being supplied.

The storm was the strongest to strike Mayotte in more than 90 years, the French weather condition service, Meteo France said. One resident on Sunday compared the scene to a nuclear armageddon.

The wreckage of hundreds of makeshift homes was scattered throughout hillsides, coconut trees had crashed through structure roofings and hospital passages were flooded, according to images from local media and the French gendarmerie.

Located almost 8,000 km (5,000 miles) from Paris, Mayotte is a significant destination for undocumented immigrants from nearby Comoros. It is significantly poorer than the rest of France and has come to grips with gang violence and social discontent for years.

France colonised Mayotte in 1843 and annexed the 4 big islands of the Comoros archipelago in 1904. The rest of the island chain elected self-reliance in a 1974 referendum, however Mayotte chose to remain under French control.

(source: Reuters)