Cyclone Chido: What you need to know about the storm that devastated Mayotte, France | Climate News

Cyclone dream It was the strongest storm to affect the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte in the last 90 years.

More on the devastation caused by Chido and what might happen next:

What is Cyclone Chido?

Chido developed from a tropical depression in the southeastern Indian Ocean between December 7 and 8.

A tropical depression is an area of ​​low pressure over the ocean accompanied by a circular flow of wind caused by thunderstorms. Tropical depressions have maximum wind speeds of 61km/h (38mph) or less.

With sustained winds between 62km/h (39mph) and 119km/h (74mph), a tropical depression can intensify into a tropical storm. Anything above that is considered a tropical cyclone.

Terminology can be a bit confusing. Tropical cyclones are called hurricanes when they occur in the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, and the northeast Pacific Ocean, and typhoons when they occur in the western Pacific Ocean. When they occur in the South Pacific and Indian Oceans, they are called cyclones.

Chido intensified into a cyclone and hit the Mayotte archipelago off the east coast of Africa, home to 320,000 people. Although Mayotte is in the Indian Ocean, it is an overseas department of France and is governed directly from Paris. However, it is the poorest region in France, with about a third of the population living in slums.

The cyclone also affected surrounding nations in southeast Africa, bringing heavy rains and damaging homes in Madagascar, Mozambique and Comoros before weakening.

Local officials told the AFP news agency that according to preliminary estimates, at least three people have died in Mozambique.

When and where did Chido make landfall?

Chido hit Mayotte on Saturday morning with winds of over 220 km/h (137 mph).

It made landfall in Mozambique on Sunday morning as a tropical storm.

Chido was incredibly powerful. aa was equal Category 4 hurricane At the time of landfall in Mayotte, this makes it the second strongest storm type on the Saffir-Simpson scale.

According to the National Hurricane Center in the US, Category 4 storms with sustained winds of 209km/h to 251km/h (130mph to 156mph) cause “catastrophic damage”. They can destroy well-built homes, uproot trees and knock down power poles, causing power outages.

How many people were killed by Chido in Mayotte?

According to France’s Interministerial Crisis Management Operations Center (COGIC), the official death toll from Chido in Mayotte is 19.

However, what Chido actually kills is scary hundreds of people.

The French Interior Ministry said it would be “difficult to account for all the victims” and the exact number of people affected by Chido has yet to be determined.

Interior Minister Bruno Retalleau told French media that determining the death toll “could take days and days”. Retailleau arrived in Mamoudzou, Mayotte’s capital, on Monday.

France sent medical and military personnel to Mayotte on ships and military aircraft.

Rescuers, including reinforcements from France, are digging through the wreckage to find survivors of the cyclone.

“I think there will be several hundreds. Maybe we will reach a thousand, even several thousand,” senior French official Francois-Xavier Bieuville told local media channel Mayotte la 1ere on Sunday.

According to French authorities, the uncertainty is partly due to the large number of undocumented migrants in Mayotte – more than 100,000. In addition, an official of the French Interior Ministry said that it would be difficult to determine the death toll because “Mayotte is a Muslim country where the dead are buried within 24 hours.”

Many of Mayotte’s migrants they come from neighboring Comoros and East African countries such as Somalia. They are attracted by the better economic opportunities that come with Mayotte’s status as a French department.

How damaged is Mayotte’s infrastructure?

According to COGIC, 830 people were injured, including 24 seriously. In addition, 100,000 people were moved to 70 emergency shelters.

Critical infrastructure was damaged in Mayotte, including roads, water treatment plants and power lines.

“The health system has been seriously affected and access to care has seriously deteriorated,” French Health Minister Genevieve Darrieussecq said on Sunday.

The control tower of Dzaoudzi-Pamandzi, Mayotte’s main airport, was also damaged. This has made rescue operations difficult, as only military aircraft can now fly to Mayotte.

Mayotte has been almost completely offline for more than 36 hours, according to internet monitoring group NetBlocks on Monday. COGIC reported that 15,000 people were experiencing power outages.

Poor communities were the most affected by the cyclone. Mayotte’s shantytowns, where most houses are made of sheet metal, were not built to withstand the cyclone’s force, and many of the dead are believed to have lived in these areas.

The damage to infrastructure has left some communities in Mayotte without food and water since Saturday, said Senator Salama Ramia, who represents Mayotte in the French Senate.

Mayotte is the poorest overseas territory of France and is also considered the poorest in the European Union. Three out of four people in the island nation live below the poverty line.

Mayotte has been struggling with water shortages for years, drought and little investment.

Where is Chido now?

As of 09:00 GMT on Monday, Chido had weakened to a remnant low or post-tropical cyclone just south of the town of Balaka in Malawi. Its speed was 45 km/h (28 mph).

What’s next?

According to ReliefWeb, Chido is expected to make landfall near Zimbabwe on Tuesday.

Cyclones usually form in the southwestern Indian Ocean from November to April. An average of 12 cyclones form every year.

in 2019 Cyclone Idai More than 1,300 people have died in countries including Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. In 2023 Cyclone Freddy caused storms within a month, killing more than 1,000 people in East Africa. Freddy remained a tropical cyclone for 36 days, making it the longest-lasting tropical cyclone on record by the World Meteorological Organization.

Scientists warn Cyclones are becoming stronger due to climate change and warming water bodies.

“The Indian Ocean is warming rapidly and will continue to warm even faster in the near future,” said Roxy Mathew Koll, a climatologist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology. He based these findings on a study he conducted and published in 2022.

“In fact, the waters where Cyclone Chido developed were 1 to 2 degrees Celsius (1.8 to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than normal,” Coll said.

Coll said better tracking of cyclones is needed to prevent the devastation caused by a cyclone like Chido. He added that governments should fund agencies that monitor storms. According to the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites, better monitoring could lead to timely warnings for residents living in areas predicted to be affected by the cyclone.

In addition, Coll said countries should “disaster-proof” coastal cities and towns, ensuring infrastructure is prepared and minimizes damage from cyclones and saves lives and livelihoods. Coastal cities are particularly vulnerable to storm surges and flooding.