Several hundred people, perhaps even thousands, may have lost their lives because of it Cyclone Chido which struck the French archipelago of Mayotte in Indian Oceanmentions in her publication the Le Monde.

According to Francois-Xavier Biéville, the top local French official, the dead “will certainly be several hundred, maybe we will reach a thousand, even several thousand”.

The French foreign ministry said it would be difficult to give an accurate count of the dead, “because a number cannot be determined at this stage.”

Cyclone Chido swept across the Mayotte archipelago overnight, with winds of over 200km/h. It destroyed residences, government buildings and a hospital. It was the strongest storm in more than 90 years to hit the islands, a meteorologist said.

According to the authorities, because of the cyclone, there is concern about the affected people’s access to food, water and sanitation facilities.

“Counting the dead will be a complicated process, because Mayotte is a Muslim region, where the dead are buried within 24 hours,” said a French interior ministry official.

Mayotte, located almost 8,000 kilometers from Paris and requiring a four-day sea journey to get there, is much poorer than the rest of France. It has also been plagued by gang violence and social unrest for decades.