Cyclone Chido caused extensive damage on the French territory of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean, leaving several people dead, officials said Saturday, as the storm roared toward the east coast of Africa.

Several hundred people, maybe even thousands, may have been killed when the most powerful cyclone in nearly a century hit the French Indian Ocean archipelago of Mayotte, a senior local French official said on Sunday.

Following are some facts about the French overseas territory of Mayotte, devastated by Cyclone Chido this weekend. GEOGRAPHY Mayotte is a French territory located off the southeastern shores of Africa.

French Interior Ministry says at least 11 people died in Mayotte after Cyclone Chido hit the Indian Ocean territory

Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere at Colorado State University shows Tropical Cyclone Chido over Mayotte, center, west of Madagascar and east of Mozambique. The French territory of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean suffered extensive damage from Tropical Cyclone Chido,