France rushes aid to Mayotte after Cyclone Chido leaves hundreds feared dead

Associated Press

MAMOUDZOU, Mayotte (AP) — France is rushing rescue workers and supplies to its Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte after the island group off Africa was battered by its worst cyclone in nearly a century. Authorities fear hundreds and possibly thousands of people died when Cyclone Chido leveled entire neighborhoods on Saturday. Mayotte is the poorest territory of France and the European Union, and its people have accused French authorities of neglect. France’s health minister says death toll estimates are likely major undercounts “compared to the scale of the disaster.” French President Emmanuel Macron says he plans to visit in the coming days after “this tragedy that has shaken each of us.”