President Emmanuel Macron declared a national day of mourning in the French overseas territory of Mayotte, and announced an emergency fund for uninsured cyclone victims – as people in remote areas reported receiving no assistance since the disaster struck five days ago.
“I can’t allow people to say that the state has abandoned Mayotte,” Macron said on Thursday while surveying the damage in Mamoudzou, the capital of France's poorest department, after the island was hit by Cyclone Chido on Saturday, 14 December.
The French president – who will stay overnight in Mayotte – announced plans to introduce new standards to be used in the reconstruction of the island's schools, housing and the hospital in the capital. “We will rebuild Mayotte,” Macron said.
Mayotte hospital on life support after cyclone
'Starving and thirsty'
Frustration is mounting among survivors over the slow delivery of aid, with around 80 percent of the archipelago still without electricity.
RFI spoke with residents in Pamandzi – the location of Mayotte's main airport – who described desperate conditions.
"We’re starving and thirsty. There’s no electricity, no water, and nothing to eat," one local said. “They give us one can of sardines and a bottle of water per person. Where is the help? We’ve been waiting, but it hasn’t come.”
Residents in Pamandzi have set up a solar-powered charging station to keep phones and torches running. “It’s the only place where we can charge phones and have some light for the night,” another local said.
France pledges full crisis response as Macron visits cyclone-ravaged Mayotte
Some neighbourhoods remain completely isolated, with no visible signs of rescue or aid.
"I live in the heights of La Vigie, it’s completely devastated," another resident told RFI. "Since the cyclone, no one has come up here to check if there are survivors or even to clear the paths so people can get through. No one until today."
Military deliveries
Since 15 December, food and supplies have been arriving by air from Réunion and mainland France. A military vessel carrying 200 containers and several million litres of water reached the territory late last week.
Military personnel arrived on Wednesday with chainsaws and shovels to clear roads to isolated areas. A second night of curfew was imposed on Thursday to maintain security.
Macron arrived early on Thursday with a delegation that includes France's Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu, around 20 medical staff and four tonnes of food and medical supplies.
Mayotte cyclone lays bare the fragility of France’s 'forgotten' territory
The French president will visit more remote areas of the island on Friday.
"I will go to the bangas tomorrow morning," Macron said, referring to the precarious settlements where nearly a third of the island's residents lived before the cyclone.
His convoy faced protests earlier in the day, with crowds booing as it passed a petrol station where residents were queuing in long lines.
France's new prime minister François Bayrou called it "the worst natural disaster in French history for several centuries", as Mayotte officials warn the death toll could reach hundreds, even thousands.
