Tens of thousands of people in Mayotte are still without access to water and rescuers are racing to find the missing after the French Indian Ocean territory was devastated by Cyclone Chito.

Preliminary figures from France’s interior ministry showed 22 people had died, but the governor of Mayotte warned the death toll could rise into the thousands.

Health workers fear the infectious disease could spread as residents report shortages of clean drinking water and stores are rationing supplies. More aid is due to arrive on Wednesday.

Islanders are under a first night curfew between 22:00 local time on Tuesday and 04:00 on Wednesday (19:00 and 01:00 GMT) as part of measures to prevent looting.

Ali Ahmidi Youssouf, 39, holding bottles of water while walking in the community of Pamandzi near the archipelago’s main island on Wednesday, told AFP : “Everyone is rushing to the shops to get water. There is a general shortage of water.”

Half the territory is still without electricity. Authorities said their first priority was to get damaged water plants back online.

On Wednesday, authorities said the water system had been partially rebuilt and they hoped 50% of the island’s population would have access to water by evening.

The French government said it would distribute 120 tons of food on Wednesday, while President Emmanuel Macron is due to visit Mayotte on Thursday.

Mayotte is one of the poorest regions in France, with many residents living in shantytowns.

Desire – Worst storm to hit islands in 90 years – Winds of more than 225 km/h (140 mph) on Saturday flattened areas where people lived in shacks with sheet metal roofs, leaving behind mud and debris.

“It’s like a steamroller crushing everything,” Nasrine, a teacher who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP in her devastated neighborhood of Pamandzi.

Another storm witness told Reuters the roof “flew off like pieces of paper”.

“A gust of wind broke the window and tore a wooden board. It was 2m x 3m (6.5 x 9.8 feet) long,” said Diego Plato, photographer of the 5th Foreign Regiment of the French Legion.

He added that many of the Corps’ buildings can no longer be used because they no longer have roofs.

Rescuers are currently searching for survivors in the rubble, including in the capital Mamuzu, while working to clear roads and clear debris and fallen trees.

Mamuzu residents who survived the storm pounded metal panels on damaged roofs with hammers on Wednesday morning.

Mayotte Governor Francois-Xavier Bierville previously told local media Death toll likely to rise significantly Once the damage has been fully assessed.

He warned that the number would “certainly be in the hundreds” and possibly thousands.

Chido also killed at least 45 people in Mozambique and seven in Malawi, according to the countries’ disaster management authorities.

Officials said Mayotte’s official death toll was relatively low because many areas were inaccessible and some victims had already been buried.

This difficulty is compounded by uncertainty about the size of Mayotte’s population.

The territory officially has 320,000 residents, but authorities estimate that somewhere between 100,000 and 200,000 undocumented immigrants may live there.

Preliminary figures from the interior ministry showed 1,373 people were injured in Mayotte.

France’s new Prime Minister Francois Bayrou told parliament on Tuesday that “200 people were seriously injured and 1,500 were injured relatively urgently.”

“I have never seen a disaster of this magnitude on national soil,” Bellew later said in a post. X.

“I think about the children whose houses were swept away, whose schools were almost completely destroyed, and whose parents are devastated.”

The government said it was sending supplies via air bridge from its other Indian Ocean territory, Reunion Island.

On Wednesday, 100 tons of food will be distributed to Mayotte’s larger Grand-Terre island, while 20 tons of food will be distributed to the smaller Petite-Terre island.

A French naval support and assistance ship will also arrive in Mayotte on Thursday morning, carrying 180 tons of cargo.

Ferries linking Mayotte’s two main islands resumed service Wednesday, allowing some people hit by the storm to return to their families.

“I haven’t heard anything from the staff in five days,” one landowner who rode the ferry told Reuters, declining to give his name. “It’s back to the Stone Age again.”

Meanwhile, in Malawi – where Chido crossed to the island of Mayotte before heading to Malawi – authorities said seven people died.

A statement from the disaster management department said as many as 20 of the country’s 29 districts suffered “mild to severe damage”, affecting about 35,000 people.

Death toll and extent of destruction Lower than neighboring Mozambique Authorities put the death toll at 34.

Experts say seasonal storms like Cheetos are increasing in intensity because of warming waters.

After months of political turmoil, hurricanes pose another challenge for government Beru was appointed last week after the former prime minister was ousted Michel Barnier.