Extensive damage is reported to Mayotte's power grid, water supply, communication systems, and airport following the cyclone's passage, with winds exceeding 60 meters per second.
Hundreds of residents have been reported dead, but the death toll may rise to several thousand according to the authorities.
I have never seen anything like it, says Vice Mayor Dhinouraine M'Colo Mainty to French Franceinfo.
Electricity, water, and sewage are out, and rescue efforts are having great difficulty reaching large parts of the island. The lack of clean drinking water is acute.
"Chaotic situation"
Extensive French aid is reaching Mayotte despite the difficulties – and the distance, 700 miles, from the French mainland. Another French territory, Réunion, is serving as a logistics base for the rescue effort. According to Réunion's Prefect Patrice Latron, Mayotte's residents are facing "an extremely chaotic situation, enormous destruction".
France's Social and Health Minister Geneviève Darrieussecq says in French Télématin that the hospital is "extremely damaged" and healthcare institutions destroyed.
On Monday, France's Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau traveled to Mayotte. Around 1,600 French soldiers and firefighters have arrived to participate in the rescue efforts, reports BBC.
Mourning period declared
The President of the Comoros Islands, Azali Assoumani, has declared a week-long mourning period as many of those living on Mayotte come from the neighboring islands.
Mayotte has been governed by France since the mid-19th century and is the country's poorest region. At least a third of the territory's 320,000 inhabitants live in shantytowns.
