Cyclone Chido in Mayotte: water, hospitals, shortages… 4 risks for the health of residents

Mayotte: after the passage of cyclone Chido, 4 risks for the health of residents

This weekend, cyclone Chido ravaged Mayotte, the poorest department in France. For the moment, no human toll has been established, even if the island's prefect has declared that he expects a thousand – or even several thousand – deaths.

While the cyclone no longer poses a threat to the territory, what dangers are residents now exposed to? ?

Collapsed buildings, devastated houses, uprooted trees… In the aftermath of a natural disaster, such as the one Mayotte experienced this weekend, physical injuries are the first impacts that must be faced. But in addition to these immediate consequences, natural disasters cause many longer-term problems. What's more, in Mayotte, where 77% of the population lives below the poverty line.

1. Affected health infrastructure

Floods, collapsed ceilings… Several media outlets present on site are reporting a catastrophic situation at the Mayotte Hospital Center.

On France 2 this morning, Geneviève Darrieussecq, Minister of Health, deplored “a very degraded healthcare system with a very damaged hospital (…) Medical centers are inoperable and the hospital has suffered significant water damage as well as deterioration, particularly in the surgery, intensive care, emergency, and maternity sections“.

The injured and patients suffering from chronic illnesses requiring constant care are therefore the most exposed to this dramatic situation.

2. The risk of epidemics

With every natural disaster, when infrastructure such as roads, water pipes and gas pipes are affected, the spectre of an epidemic returns. Contaminated water and the absence of a functioning sewage system risk contaminating drinking water and leading to the spread of diseases such as cholera. The island of Mayotte is particularly exposed to the disease, having already experienced an epidemic this year.

A fear all the greater since the Pasteur Institute recently detected a strain of cholera on the island that is highly resistant to antibiotics.

3. Food shortages

Following an interministerial crisis meeting, Prime Minister François Bayrou stressed the need to supply the island with food and drinking water. Secours Populaire, the French Red Cross, etc. Many associations have launched appeals for donations. But in Mayotte, inaccessible roads and a devastated airport risk complicating supplies.

4. Stress and mental health

The trauma of a natural disaster can lead to widespread mental health problems. The immediate consequences of shock and grief, the endless waiting after the loss of loved ones and the loss of everything one owned, expose one to longer term problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder.