France plans to rebuild Mayotte within two years following cyclone Chido

The French overseas department of Mayotte, which was severely impacted by cyclone Chido, is set to undergo restoration efforts with the goal of completing them within two years.

This announcement was made by French Prime Minister François Bayrou during a working visit to the archipelago, Caliber.Az reports citing French media.

In response to questions regarding the timeline for the recovery, Bayrou emphasized that completing the restoration within two years is a realistic and achievable target.

 “This is the goal we must set for ourselves,” the Prime Minister stated.

Bayrou also addressed the casualties caused by the storm, noting that while the department has suffered significant damage, the death toll is much lower than some reports had suggested.

“Rumors of thousands of deaths are unfounded,” he clarified, adding that the actual number of fatalities could be in the dozens or hundreds.

Chido hit Mayotte on 14 December with wind speeds of more than 200 km per hour, and gusts of more than 225 km/h. It was the strongest storm to hit Mayotte in at least 90 years, according to Météo-France.

Torrential rainfall accompanied the winds – 176 mm in 12 hours – as well as dangerous seas with average wave heights of more than 5 meters. Such was the strength of the cyclone that it destroyed some of Météo-France’s observational structure.

Mayotte lies in the Indian Ocean off the east coast of Africa, just west of Madagascar. Made up of two main islands, its land area is about twice the size of Washington DC.

Cyclone Chido, a category 4 storm, tore through the southwestern Indian Ocean over the weekend, impacting northern Madagascar before rapidly intensifying and slamming Mayotte with winds above 220 kilometers per hour (136 miles per hour), according to France’s weather service. 

By Vafa Guliyeva