Cyclone Chido is expected to kill several hundred people

Hundreds and possibly thousands of people are feared dead in Mayotte after a powerful cyclone devastated the area in the French Indian Ocean.

Rescue workers are still trying to reach some communities in search of survivors.

Entire settlements were leveled when Cyclone Chido brought winds of more than 225 km/h (140 mph), with the poorest living in makeshift shelters particularly hard hit.

Some of Mayotte’s 320,000 residents said they were struggling with severe shortages of food, water and shelter.

A resident of the capital Mamoudzou, waiting in line for supplies, said: “We haven’t had water for three days now, so it’s starting to get a lot.”

“We’re trying to get the basics to live because we don’t know when the water will come back.”

Another Mamoudzou resident, John Balloz, said he was surprised he did not die when the cyclone hit.

“It was the wind, the wind was blowing, and I panicked, I screamed, ‘We need help, we need help.’ I screamed because I could see the end coming to me,” he said.

Mohamed Ishmael, who also lives in the capital, told Reuters the situation there was “a tragedy” and said: “You feel like you’re in the aftermath of a nuclear war… I saw a whole neighborhood disappear.”

Another said they had used a nearby school as shelter, adding: “We can still seek refuge with our neighbors and we still stick together and are careful. We need everyone to hold hands.”

Mayotte’s impoverished communities, including undocumented migrants who have traveled to French territory to seek asylum, are believed to be particularly hard hit due to the precarious situation of their accommodation

The population is heavily dependent on French financial aid and has long struggled with poverty, unemployment and political instability.

About 75% of the population lives below the national poverty line and unemployment stands at about a third.

French President Emmanuel Macron said his thoughts were with “our compatriots in Mayotte who have endured the most terrible hours and some of whom have lost everything, lost their lives.”

While some French aid and rescue workers have reached Mayotte, efforts to reach some communities are still ongoing.

Francois-Xavier Bieuville, the island’s prefect, told local media that the death toll could rise significantly once the damage was fully assessed. He warned it will be “definitely several hundred” and could potentially reach thousands.

French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, who is expected to visit the island, acknowledged the “extraordinary severity” of the cyclone and assured that efforts to support the population would be stepped up.

Cyclone Chido also brought strong winds and heavy rain to Mozambique, making landfall early Sunday about 25 miles (40.2 km) south of the northern city of Pemba, according to weather services.

Authorities said the cyclone caused structural damage and power outages in the northern coastal provinces of Nampula and Cabo Delgado on Saturday morning.

Guy Taylor, a spokesman for the UNICEF aid agency in Mozambique, said: “We were hit very hard in the early hours of the morning.”

“Many houses have been destroyed or severely damaged, health facilities and schools are out of service,” he added.

Mr Taylor said Unicef ​​was concerned about “loss of access to essential services”, including medical treatment, clean water and sanitation, as well as “the spread of diseases such as cholera and malaria”.