CAPE TOWN, South Africa — Mayotte, a French territory, has been placed under a red alert as another cyclone approaches the islands, which were recently struck by a devastating storm, the worst seen in nearly a century. The alert was issued by the Prefecture of Mayotte on Saturday evening as preparations were made for the arrival of Cyclone Dikeledi, which made landfall in northern Madagascar earlier that day and is now advancing toward Mayotte.
Cyclone Dikeledi is expected to reach Mayotte early Sunday. In light of the impending storm, emergency services and law enforcement have been put on high alert, with officials stating that comprehensive measures are being implemented to safeguard the population. It is anticipated that Dikeledi will likely weaken to a strong tropical storm as it approaches the islands.
According to the French meteorological service, Meteo, even though Dikeledi is predicted to pass about 75 kilometers (46 miles) to the south of Mayotte, it will still generate strong winds and heavy rainfall. Wind gusts may reach up to 110 kph (68 mph), prompting concerns for potential hazards.
Mayotte is still reeling from the effects of Cyclone Chido, which struck a month earlier, inflicting severe damage on what is known to be France’s poorest department. Local authorities reported that at least 39 fatalities occurred in Mayotte, with over 2,000 individuals injured due to Chido’s impact. French Prime Minister François Bayrou, during his visit to the islands two weeks back, cautioned that the final count of casualties could potentially number in the hundreds.
Officials have termed Chido the worst cyclone to hit the territory in 90 years, as it left widespread destruction and obliterated entire neighborhoods. Mayotte is a densely populated archipelago with a population exceeding 320,000, which includes around 100,000 migrants. Many inhabitants reside in unstable shantytowns that were particularly vulnerable during Chido’s onslaught.
After wreaking havoc on Mayotte, Cyclone Chido continued its path, resulting in more than 100 deaths in Mozambique and Malawi.
While Dikeledi is not anticipated to reach the same intensity as Chido, which had wind speeds surpassing 200 kph (124 mph), concerns regarding further heavy rainfall and the likelihood of mudslides have been raised by Mayotte’s Prefect, Francois-Xavier Bieuville, who serves as the French government’s chief representative on the islands.
The cyclone season in the southwestern Indian Ocean runs from November to April, and the region has been grappling with a succession of powerful storms in recent years. Cyclone Idai, which occurred in 2019, marked one of the worst disasters, claiming more than 1,500 lives across Madagascar, Mozambique, Malawi, and Zimbabwe, while impacting over 3 million individuals.
