'Thousands' dead in Mayotte after powerful cyclone Chido.
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Authorities in Mayotte, a French territory in the Indian Ocean, said the death toll from the powerful Cyclone Chido that hit the island over the weekend was very high - between several hundred and several thousand - the worst cyclone to hit the region in more than 90 years.
Mayotte's territorial prefect, François-Xavier Bieuville, told local broadcasters on Sunday that the official death toll was 14, but that the figures were very preliminary and he expected the real number to be significantly higher.
Bieuville said he believed the final number was "much higher ... maybe a few hundred, maybe a thousand, maybe a few thousand".
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Cyclone Chido made landfall with winds of 140 mph (226 km/h), equivalent to a Category 4 storm, and storm surges of 13 to 28 feet.
On Monday, rescue teams, including paramedics from France and the nearby French territory of Réunion, were racing against time to find survivors, France 24 reported.
Mayotte is located in the Indian Ocean, off the southeast coast of Africa, and is home to more than 321,000 people. The territory is one of France's poorest regions, and Bieuville noted that many of its residents live in "slums" — which were devastated by the cyclone. Most islanders are Muslim, and local authorities have said religious customs require them to bury their dead within 24 hours — which could make it more difficult to get an accurate death toll estimate.
tangential
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Despite being located nearly 8,000 kilometers from Paris, the island has been at the center of a key immigration debate in France, as many asylum seekers from the neighboring African nation of Comoros have flocked to the island in large numbers hoping to gain French citizenship. . Earlier this year, the decision prompted a legislative push to end automatic birthright citizenship for those born on the island.
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