Several hundred people, possibly 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.
“I think there will certainly be several hundreds, maybe we will reach a thousand, even several thousands,” prefect François-Xavier Bieuville said on local media channel Mayotte La 1ère.
Asked about the death toll of several hundred, the French interior ministry said "it will be difficult to account for all victims" and said a figure could not be determined at this stage.
Cyclone Chido swept through Mayotte overnight, Météo-France said, bringing winds of more than 200km/h and damaging makeshift housing, government buildings and a hospital. It was the strongest storm in more than 90 years to hit the islands, the forecaster said.
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“My thoughts are with our compatriots in Mayotte, who have gone through the most horrific few hours and who have, for some, lost everything, lost their lives,” French president Emmanuel Macron said.
Aerial footage shared by the French gendarmerie showed the wreckage of hundreds of makeshift houses strewn across the hills of one of Mayotte's islands, which have been a focal point for illegal immigration from nearby Comoros.
In the last few decades thousands of people have attempted to make the crossing from Comoros, off the coast of east Africa, to Mayotte, which has a higher standard of living and access to the French welfare system.
More than 100,000 undocumented migrants live in Mayotte, according to the French interior ministry.
It was difficult to ascertain the precise death toll after the cyclone, which also raised concerns about access to food, water and sanitation, authorities said.
"For the toll, it's going to be complicated, because Mayotte is a Muslim land where the dead are buried within 24 hours," a French interior ministry official said earlier.
Located nearly 8,000km from Paris, Mayotte is significantly poorer than the rest of France and has grappled with gang violence and social unrest for decades.
Some 77 per cent of the people in Mayotte live below the French poverty line.
Tensions were stoked earlier this year by a water shortage.
The cyclone went on to hit northern Mozambique on Sunday, but the full extent of the impact was not clear. Internet monitor NetBlocks said on X that heavy rain and winds had damaged power and telecommunications infrastructure.
France colonised Mayotte in 1843 and annexed the whole archipelago, including Comoros, in 1904.
In a 1974 referendum, 95 per cent backed separation but 63 per cent on Mayotte voted to stay French. Grande Comore, Anjouan and Moheli declared independence in 1975. Mayotte is still ruled from Paris. – Reuters