French President Emmanuel Macron arrived to the Indian Ocean archipelago of Mayotte on Thursday. A catastrophic storm, which was the worst to hit the island in 90-years, devastated the island over the weekend.
Macron will fly over the affected area and will assess the extent of the damage caused by cyclone Chido. The French president is also set to visit a destroyed neighbourhood and a hospital.
Upon his arrival, security agent Assane Haloi urged Macron to lengthen his stay to the French territory and to find solutions and emergency aid.
“Please no solutions but emergency aids, urgently. Take your time, stay with us, give us solutions and emergency aids. There is nothing in Mayotte,” Haloi pleaded.
French authorities confirmed at least 31 people died, but this number is expected to be much higher. It is feared hundreds, or even thousands, of people died after the cyclone ripped through the island off the coast of Africa.
It is difficult to get an accurate death toll as Mayotte’s population consists of mostly Sunni Muslims, who perform burials within 24 hours, making it difficult to determine the number of dead. It is also feared many are still buried under the piles of rubble across the island.
