'Definitely several hundred' killed as Cyclone Chido devastates Mayotte

Saint Denis de la Reunion: Local authorities said Sunday that the likely death toll from cycloneChido s passage across Mayotte was definitely several...

Saint-Denis de la Reunion: Local authorities said Sunday that the likely death toll from cyclone Chido's passage across Mayotte was "definitely several hundred" though the disruption means reaching an exact count will be difficult.

Rescue workers and supplies are being rushed in by air and sea, but their efforts are likely to be hindered by damage to airports and electricity distribution in a territory where even clean drinking water was already subject to chronic shortages.

A previous toll shared with AFP by a security source had confirmed only 14 deaths.

"I think there will definitely be several hundred, perhaps we will come close to a thousand or even several thousand" deaths, prefect Francois-Xavier Bieuville said on broadcaster Mayotte la Premiere.

He added that it would be "very difficult to reach a final count" given that most residents are Muslim, traditionally burying their dead within 24 hours.