French Prime Minister François Bayrou believes dozens of people died when Cyclone Chido hit the French Indian Ocean territory in Mayotte on December 14, rather than thousands as some had feared.
Bayrou told BFMTV he believes the “alarming and sometimes frightening figures presented will not be confirmed in reality.”
Mayotte’s confirmed death toll so far stands at 35, but in the immediate aftermath of the cyclone, local prefect François-Xavier Bieuville feared it could be “definitely several hundred” and even thousands.
The prefect told France Info radio on Tuesday that investigations on site were making good progress and “makes us believe that we will confirm this figure of 35”.
Bieuville defended his initial comments, emphasizing: “I was never alarmist, I was simply not in a position to give the number of victims.”
Officials said it was difficult to determine the extent of the death toll after the disaster 10 days ago because many areas of Mayotte were inaccessible and victims were buried within 24 hours in accordance with Islamic customs.
There is also uncertainty about the actual population of Mayotte, a French territory in the Indian Ocean.
Officially it has a population of 320,000, but authorities estimate that around 100,000 to 200,000 illegal migrants could also be living there.
“I think the number of deaths will be in the dozens, not the thousands,” the prime minister told BFMTV on Monday evening.
The archipelago is one of the poorest parts of France, with many of its residents living in slums.
Cyclone Chido was the worst storm to hit the area in 90 years. It brought winds of up to 260 km/h (160 miles per hour) and leveled areas where people lived in shacks with metal roofs.
France held a national day of mourning on Monday following the hurricane. President Emmanuel Macron visited the area last week and was harassed by angry locals demanding more aid in the devastated areas.
Some survivors had to survive for a week without water, communications or electricity.
Authorities restored water supplies to key points in the territory on Tuesday, Bieuville said. “Even if it is sometimes difficult to deliver this water, our fellow citizens have water.”
He also said that there was no longer a fuel shortage and cars could now be filled up.
The Prime Minister had earlier stated that a field hospital would also be operational by Tuesday morning.
Cyclone Chido moved across continental Africa towards Mayotte, killing 120 people in Mozambique and 13 in Malawi.
