Mayotte cyclone lays bare the fragility of France’s 'forgotten' territory

Mayotte's dense informal settlements – home to many illegal migrants – were obliterated, the lightweight structures offering little resistance to the cyclone's winds.  AP

The French archipelago Mayotte lies devastated this week after an unprecedented cyclone struck the country's poorest department – its impact magnified by chronic infrastructure failings and a migration crisis that saw thousands avoid emergency shelter for fear of deportation.

With winds exceeding 220 kilometres per hour – a ferocity not seen since the 1930s – Cyclone Chido lashed the Indian Ocean territory, where more than 77 percent of people survive below the poverty line and a third live in homes made of sheet metal and other lightweight materials.