Cyclone Chido, a Category 4-Storm, made landfall in Pemba, the capital of Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province on December 15, after wreaking havoc in the French overseas department of Mayotte.
“According to @DccmsM, Tropical Cyclone Chido was seen @ 14:05 today centered over northern Mozambique but is already extending its influence over parts of Southern Malawi. Expected Threats: Heavy rains, Destructive winds & Flash Floods. @MalawiRedCross is already on the ground,” the Malawi Red Cross posted on its X account.
The International Organization for Migration posted, “Intense Tropical #CycloneChido hit Cabo Delgado, Nampula & Niassa early Sunday with winds over 200km/h & heavy rains, impacting an estimated 1.7M people in Mozambique. IOM, govt & partners are on the ground, assessing needs & coordinating early response, with PSEA measures reinforced.”
“#CycloneChido has made landfall near Pemba, in northern #Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province. UNICEF is very concerned about the immediate and longer-term impacts on an already very vulnerable population. We are on the ground, working with partners and the government to respond,” UNICEF Mozambique posted on X.
Before approaching Mozambique, Chido wrought havoc on Mayotte at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel.
“The small French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte has been absolutely devastated by Category 4 Cyclone Chido, with entire neighborhoods flattened and hundreds feared dead. The island was battered by extreme winds over 136 mph (220 km/h),” US-based extreme weather tracker Colin McCarthy wrote on his X account.
Meanwhile, the Prefect of Mayotte, Francois-Xavier Bieuville told local media channel Mayotte La 1ereon December 15 that hundreds, maybe even thousands may have been killed by Chido on the archipelago, news agency Reuters reported.
Mayotte is predominantly Muslim, and the dead are buried within 24 hours. Hence, getting a true picture of the death toll will be difficult, the French interior ministry has said, according to Reuters.
According to Meteo France, the official French weather forecaster, “The intense cyclone #Chido hit Mayotte hard. The gusts observed throughout the country exceeded 200 km/h. This is a cyclone of a magnitude not seen for Mayotte in more than 90 years.”