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A week after his worst cyclone in almost a century, and a day after a testy presidential visit, France impoverished Mayotte area in the Indian Ocean is still struggling to count the dead, restore essential services and help a besieged population.
Cyclone Chido wreaked havoc across the archipelago. Already stretched thin, hospitals are overwhelmed with patients suffering not only from cyclone-related injuries but also from dehydration, malnutrition and disease.
In Mayotte’s main hospital in the capital, Mamoudzou, doctors faced a cascade of crises.
“We lost 40% of patient rooms, about 50 to 60 beds,” said Dr. Roger Serhal, head of the department of obstetrics and gynecology. “There are so many patients coming to the hospital, and we don’t have room to accommodate them.”
When Chido battered the archipelago last weekend with 220 km/h (136 mph) winds, Serhal and his team delivered three babies, including by caesarean section.
The hospital’s structural damage has forced staff to triage patients, with priority given to the most serious cases. Although the official death toll remains at 35, according to the French Interior Ministry on Saturday, the number of seriously injured has risen to 78, with 2,432 others sustaining minor injuries. Health Minister Geneviève Darrieussecq has warned that all estimates are likely to be gross undercounts “compared to the scale of the disaster.”
The emergency aid was delivered by air and sea. Since the cyclone, 31 tons of food and 108 tons of water have arrived, with an additional 1.6 million liters of water expected on board a container ship on Monday, according to the Ministry of the Interior.
The hospital is operating at 50% capacity, while 109 patients have been evacuated to mainland France for urgent care. Three advanced medical posts have been set up on Grande-Terre, the main island of Mayotte, to deal with the surge in emergencies.
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The storm has entire neighborhoods destroyed. Many people ignored warnings, thinking the storm would not be that extreme. Even worse, many migrants avoided shelters for fear of deportation, authorities said, adding that there could be hundreds or possibly thousands of dead.
Doctors fear that the lack of clean water and electricity – compounded by overcrowded living conditions – is the stage for a health crisis. “Patients come because their illness is not treated, there is no water and no electricity. We are worried about epidemics, like the cholera outbreak that we stopped just months ago,” said Dr. Vincent Gilles, medical director of the emergency hospital.
The hospital staff continues to work tirelessly, but resources are running dangerously low. “If we have rain, it will be catastrophic,” Serhal said.
Among the patients struggling to recover is Saindou Mohamadi, 54, who broke his arm and sprained his ankle during the storm that left his home completely destroyed. Speaking from his hospital bed, Mohamadi expressed despair for his family. “My mother is sick, I am sick, and my child is sick,” he said. “They need to eat, but I’m the one who takes care of the food, and now we have nothing.” With six children to support, Mohamadi is one of countless residents who remain homeless and poor.
“I’m not alone,” he said. “There are many of us who have lost everything – our homes, our food. I want the government to take care of us, give us food and a place to sleep.
Mayotte, a densely populated archipelago of more than 320,000 people, is also home to an estimated 100,000 migrants, many living in precarious conditions.
The poorest overseas region of France and, by extension, the European Union has long struggled with systemic neglect and underinvestment. About 75% of the population lives in poverty, and the archipelago’s infrastructure was ill-equipped to withstand a disaster of this magnitude. The destruction of Chido has exacerbated these challenges, leaving many residents with little faith in the government’s ability to provide timely and adequate relief.
Efforts to provide emergency aid, including airlifts of water and food, are underway, but the scale of the emergency is dire. Mayotte’s airport remains closed to civilian flights due to damage, further complicating logistics.
French President Emmanuel Macron, during his visit on Friday, acknowledged the gravity of the situation and promised to rebuild, but faced criticism from residents frustrated by the slow pace of aid.
Calling the archipelago “completely devastated,” Minister of the Interior Bruno Retailleau painted a gloomy picture – with about 70% of the population severely affected by the catastrophe, and many left homeless and vulnerable. For now, the island’s residents and their overstaffed medical staff are left to face the dire consequences of Chido, one day at a time.
& copy 2024 The Canadian Press
