Several hundred people, maybe even thousands, may have been killed by Cyclone Chido in the French archipelago of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean, a senior local French official said on Sunday (Dec 15).
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NewsTranscript
00:00Video released on Sunday by the French Gendarmerie showed the wreckage of hundreds of makeshift
00:07houses after the most powerful cyclone in nearly a century struck the archipelago of
00:13Mayotte in the Indian Ocean.
00:15A top local official told a local outlet that several hundred, maybe even thousands, may
00:22have been killed by Cyclone Chido.
00:25Asked about the death toll of several hundred, the French Interior Ministry said it will
00:30be difficult to account for all victims and said a figure could not be determined at this
00:35stage.
00:37Cyclone Chido swept through Mayotte overnight, according to the French Meteorological Administration.
00:43The forecaster said the storm brought winds of more than 124 miles per hour and damaged
00:49makeshift housing, government buildings and a hospital, adding it was the strongest storm
00:55in more than 90 years to hit the islands.
01:08Mayotte's islands have been a focal point for illegal immigration from nearby Comoros.
01:13In recent decades, thousands have attempted to cross from Comoros on the east coast of
01:18Africa to Mayotte, which has a higher standard of living and access to the French welfare
01:24system.
01:25According to the French Interior Ministry, over 100,000 undocumented migrants live in
01:31Mayotte.
01:32Some 77% of the people in Mayotte live below the French poverty line.