Local authorities said the cyclone, which made landfall with wind speeds above 140 mph, devastated several “shantytowns” across the island.

France was rushing help by ship and military aircraft to its poor overseas territory of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean on Monday after the island was shattered by its worst storm in nearly a century. Authorities in Mayotte fear hundreds and possibly thousands of people have died in Cyclone Chido,

Rescue workers are rushing to the French territory of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean after it was devastated by the powerful Cyclone Chido.