The Latest Breaking News from Mayotte

National Rally chief Marine Le Pen on Sunday branded as insufficient French government plans to rebuild Mayotte following the devastation left on the Indian Ocean archipelago by Cyclone Chido on 9 December.

Mayotte’s airport has reopened to commercial flights, allowing civilians to return to the French Indian Ocean archipelago more than two weeks after it was devastated by Cyclone Chido. Thousands of families who lost their homes in the storm are being forced to leave emergency shelters but have nowhere to go.

Volunteers in the Comoros islands are working around the clock to support survivors fleeing Cyclone Chido in Mayotte as political tensions simmer between France and the Comoros over migration.

Prime Minister François Bayrou and two senior ministers will travel to Mayotte on Sunday to assess the devastating impact of Cyclone Chido, which struck the French Indian Ocean territory on 14 December.

Mayotte has changed beyond recognition since a cyclone devastated the Indian Ocean territory, sparking an environment and biodiversity crisis that could last for a decade or more, scientists say.

From tiny and impoverished Mayotte to oil-rich behemoth Saudi Arabia, prosperous European cities to overcrowded slums in Africa, nowhere was spared the devastating impact of supercharged climate disasters in 2024.

From tiny and impoverished Mayotte to oil-rich behemoth Saudi Arabia, prosperous European cities to overcrowded slums in Africa, nowhere was spared the devastating impact of supercharged climate disasters in 2024.

Ten days after Cyclone Chido struck the French overseas territory of Mayotte, the archipelago is struggling to recover from ongoing shortages as authorities announce the closure of temporary shelters on 31 December.

In the wake of Cyclone Chido, the worst natural disaster to hit the Indian Ocean archipelago in 90 years, Mayotte's forests have been devastated – and with them the island's biodiversity, food security and local economy.