AP reporter at the scene of massive destruction from Cyclone Chido

(19 Dec 2024)

FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 4541683

RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Mayotte, France - 19 December 2024
1. SOUNDBITE (English) Sam Mednick, AP correspondent:
++AUDIO AS INCOMING; PARTLY OVERLAID WITH SHOTS 2-3++
"I'm standing in a shanty town on the outskirts of Mayotte, one of the hardest hit areas from the cyclone. People's houses have been completely destroyed. Behind me here, this house, this man is rebuilding his house pretty much from scratch. He said it was destroyed; his neighbour was killed during the cyclone. He was sheltering with about 30 other people in six houses. He said that the houses flattened on top of them and that they had to dig through the rubble in order to get them out. He had five children and a wife. They are fine but people here say that they think the death toll is much higher than what officially is being reported right now because of the extent of the devastation of what they've been living through."
2. Various of Mayotte resident Nassirou Hamidouni trying to rebuild his house
3. Drone shot of destruction caused by cyclone Chido
STORYLINE:
French authorities said at least 31 people have died and more than 1,500 people were injured, more than 200 critically after Cyclone Chido roared across the Indian Ocean archipelago of Mayotte on Saturday.

But it’s feared hundreds or even thousands of people may have died.

"People here say that they think the death toll is much higher than what officially is being reported right now because of the extent of the devastation of what they've been living through," AP reporter Sam Mednick explained as she stood amid the devastation on
Thursday.

France's President Emmanuel Macron traveled Thursday Mayotte to survey the destruction wrought across the French territory as thousands of people tried to cope without the bare essentials such as water or electricity.

The cyclone devastated entire neighborhoods as many people ignored the warnings, thinking the storm wouldn’t be so extreme.

Mayotte is home to more than 320,000 people according to the French government.

Most residents are Muslim and French authorities have estimated another 100,000 migrants live there.

Mayotte is the only part of the Comoros archipelago that voted to remain part of France in a 1974 referendum.

AP Video shot by Sam Mednick

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[Mike-ooc]

Hold on to the children. Keep them safe because thats what they want.