Portugal Colonial - France counts cyclone cost as aid reaches Mayotte

France's President Emmanuel Macron will be in Mayotte on Thursday, his office announced, with officials warning of a death toll reaching hundreds -- possibly even thousands -- from the most destructive cyclone to hit the archipelago in 90 years.

After the French overseas territory emerged from a first night under curfew, rescuers raced to find survivors in the ruins of shantytowns while also unblocking roads and clearing rubble.

Bulldozers were clearing the heliport of the island's only hospital, while residents were busy repairing their metal-sheet huts.

Cyclone Chido was the latest in a string of storms worldwide fuelled by climate change, according to meteorologists.

Experts say seasonal storms are being super-charged by warmer Indian Ocean waters, fuelling faster, more destructive winds.

Authorities imposed a nightly curfew to prevent looting.

A preliminary toll from France's interior ministry shows that 22 people were confirmed killed and 1,373 injured.

But officials said the toll could rise exponentially.

"What I fear is that the toll will be far too high," French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, who visited Mayotte on Monday, told BFMTV, describing "colossal damage".

"I have never seen a disaster of this magnitude on national soil," Prime Minister Francois Bayrou said. "I think of the children whose houses have been swept away, whose schools have been almost all destroyed and whose parents are extremely distraught."

After hitting Mayotte, Cyclone Chido made landfall in Mozambique, claiming at least 45 lives, injuring 500 people and destroying more than 20,000 homes, authorities said.

- 'Crushed everything' -

Located near Madagascar off the coast of southeastern Africa, Mayotte is France's poorest region. An estimated one-third of its population lives in shantytowns whose flimsy sheet metal-roofed homes offered scant protection from the storm.

At Pamandzi, a small commune located off the main island, sheet metal debris and destroyed wooden structures were strewn as far as the eye could see.

Health services across Mayotte are in tatters, while power and mobile phone services have been knocked out.

The airport is closed to civilian flights while the question of how to ensure supplies of drinking water has caused mounting concern.

"Everyone is rushing to the stores for water. There is a general shortage," said Ali Ahmidi Youssouf, a 39-year-old resident walking on the road with a few bottles in his hand.

Bayrou said 50 percent of the electricity network had restarted, with a target of 75 percent "by the end of the week".

Macron, who chaired a crisis meeting on Monday night, was initially due to take part in a Brussels summit with EU leaders, but cut short his trip to go to Mayotte.

- Relieve 'exhausted' staff -

Much of Mayotte's population is Muslim whose religious tradition dictates that bodies must be buried rapidly, meaning some may never be counted.

Assessing the toll is further complicated by irregular immigration to Mayotte, especially from the Comoros islands to the north, meaning much of the population is unregistered.

Mayotte officially has 320,000 inhabitants but authorities estimate about 100,000 to 200,000 more people, taking into account illegal immigration.

French military planes have been shuttling between Mayotte and the island of La Reunion, also a French overseas territory, to the east that was spared the cyclone and is serving as the hub for rescue efforts.

An A400M aircraft arrived transporting 23 tonnes of water and food, Minister for Overseas Territories Francois-Noel Buffet said.

The French navy support and assistance vessel Champlain, which set sail from La Reunion, is also due to arrive in Mayotte on Thursday morning with 180 tonnes of freight on board.

A field hospital will be set up "by the end of the week" or "the beginning of next week" to relieve the damaged main Mayotte hospital and its "exhausted" staff, added Buffet.

Mamoudzou city hall, meanwhile, called for adults "in good physical shape" to step forward and assist emergency services.

P.Cavaco--PC