The death toll from Cyclone Chido, which hit the French territory of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean, could reach several hundred, a local official has warned.

The cyclonic winds, which reached speeds of 225 km/h, completely flattened entire communities, the BBC reports.

According to the latest figures, the official death toll is 11, but the prefect of the island, François-Xavier Biéville, told local media that “there must be hundreds of people dead”. He added that “several thousand people” could have died.

The French Interior Ministry said that “it will be difficult to say the exact number of victims”, especially at this stage.

“It will be complicated because Mayotte is a Muslim country where the dead are buried within 24 hours”, a French Interior Ministry official said earlier.

The island is home to 320,000 residents, including more than 100,000 undocumented migrants, the ministry added.

Located nearly 8,000 kilometers from Paris and a four-day sea voyage, Mayotte is significantly poorer than the rest of France and has struggled with gang violence and social unrest for decades. About 77 percent of Mayotte’s people live below France’s poverty line.

French President Emmanuel Macron said France “will be with the people of Mayotte” and had sent 250 rescue workers to the island. Interior Minister Bruno Retallou said “all makeshift homes have been completely destroyed” and expressed fears of “heavy losses.”

Ambdilwahedou Soumaila, the mayor of Mamoudzou, the capital of Mayotte, said hospitals, schools and houses had been hit and that everything was destroyed.

Local resident Ibrahim told AFP of “apocalyptic scenes” as he made his way across the main island, forced to clear blocked roads.

Thousands left homeless

On Saturday, local media reported 11 dead and 246 injured, according to hospital figures, while AFP reported more fatalities – at least 14 – citing security sources.

Mayotte, located northwest of Madagascar, is an archipelago made up of the main island of Grand Terre and several smaller ones. Most of the roughly 300,000 residents live in makeshift shelters with tin roofs, and tens of thousands have been left homeless.

They are currently without electricity, water and internet connections. The government in Paris has sent a military transport plane with supplies and emergency workers.

Pamanji airport suffered “major damage, particularly to the control tower,” acting Transport Minister François Durovray said on Platform X.