By Tassilo Hummel

PAMANDZI, Mayotte (Reuters) – Authorities in Mayotte struggled on Tuesday to stop hunger, disease and lawlessness from spreading in the French overseas territory after a devastating weekend storm, while Mozambique reported of many deaths from the typhoon.

Hundreds or even thousands could be dead in Mayotte, which took the hardest hit of Typhoon Chido, French officials said. The storm devastated large parts of the Indian Ocean archipelago, France’s poorest overseas territory, before hitting the African mainland.

Necessary goods, medical and technical personnel and police arrive by air bridge with La Reunion, the only lifeline in the territory.

With many parts of Mayotte still inaccessible and some victims buried before their deaths were officially counted, it could take days to determine the full extent of the devastation.

So far, 22 deaths and almost 1,400 injuries have been confirmed, Ambdilwahedou Soumaila, the mayor of the capital Mamoudzou, told Radio France Internationale.

“The priority now is water and food,” Soumaila said. “There are people who have unfortunately died where the bodies have started to decompose which could create a sanitary problem.”

“We don’t have electricity. When night comes, there are people who take advantage of that situation.”

The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies says the number of victims is likely to be higher because about one third of the island’s population is still unknown due to poor communication.

“This is a small island with 300,000 inhabitants, and because the typhoon disturbed the electricity, the internet connection and telephone lines, about 100,000 people have not been found yet,” said the manager of IFRC communication Nora Peter.

SHANTYTOWNS

Rescuers searched for survivors amid the rubble of shantytowns battered by 200 kph (124 mph) winds.

Mathieu Gouzou, a sports teacher at Bouéni M’titi-Labattoir middle school in the town of Dzaouzi said when asked about the fate of his students: “It is impossible to find them all.”

“Many of them live in a nearby shantytown, no one can go there.”

The situation is made more difficult by the fact that the exact size of the population of Mayotte, which has increased by approximately 100,000 in the last 10 years mainly due to undocumented immigration, is unknown.

The French interior ministry announced that a curfew will be in effect on Tuesday night from 10pm to 4am local time.

Twenty tons of food and water will begin arriving Tuesday by air and sea. The French government said on Monday that it expected 50% of water supplies to be restored within 48 hours and 95% within a week.

Prime Minister Francois Bayrou said two of the six water treatment plants were back on line and that almost half of the electricity network was running.

A military hospital was established and people in the most critical condition were evacuated to La Reunion.

Doctor Claudia Lodesani of Doctors without Borders said that it is important to restore access to drinking water to prevent the outbreak of cholera and other diseases.

“An epidemic is inevitable, but there is a high risk,” he told Reuters, noting that even before the storm access to clean water and health services was difficult for those shantytown, where many immigrants live.

“France will fix the hospital easily, but the situation in the shantytowns is worrying,” said Lodesani.

STRONGEST STORM

Chido was the strongest typhoon to hit Mayotte in more than 90 years.

In Mozambique, it has killed at least 34 people, officials said Tuesday. Another seven died in Malawi.

Drone footage from Cabo Delgado province in Mozambique

showing ruined thatched houses near the beach and personal belongings scattered under the few palm trees still standing.

In mainland France, the disaster has prompted a political dispute over immigration, the environment and France’s treatment of overseas territories.

Mayotte has struggled with unrest in recent years with many residents angered by illegal immigration – mostly from nearby Comoros and Madagascar – and inflation. The territory has become a stronghold for the far-right National Rally.

France’s acting Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, from the conservative Republican party, told a press conference in Mayotte that the early warning system worked “perfectly” but that many of the undocumented did not go to the designated residences.

Some officials say undocumented migrants may be afraid to go to shelters for fear of being caught.

Left-wing politicians have pointed to what they say is the Mayotte government’s negligence and failure to prepare for natural disasters linked to climate change.