Mayotte on red alert again as another cyclone heads toward the French territory off Africa

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — The French territory of Mayotte was put on red alert Saturday as another cyclone headed toward the islands off Africa that were devastated by their worst storm in nearly a century last month.

The Prefecture of Mayotte said the red alert warning was issued at 10 p.m. local time in preparation for the arrival of Cyclone Dikeledi, which made landfall in northern Madagascar earlier Saturday and was moving west toward Mayotte.

Dikeledi was expected to reach Mayotte early Sunday. Emergency personnel and law enforcement were on high alert and “everything is being put in place to protect the population,” the French Interior Ministry said. It said Dikeledi would likely weaken to a strong tropical storm as it neared Mayotte.

The French meteorological department, Meteo, said Dikeledi would still bring strong winds and heavy rain, although it was expected to pass approximately 75 kilometers (46 miles) to the south of Mayotte. Wind gusts could reach up to 110 kph (68 mph), Meteo said.

Mayotte has not yet recovered from the impact of Cyclone Chido, which ripped through the archipelago a month ago, causing extensive damage to France's poorest department. Authorities say at least 39 people were killed in Mayotte and more than 2,000 were injured by Chido, but French Prime Minister François Bayrou warned on a visit to the islands two weeks ago that the final death toll could be several hundred.

It was the worst cyclone to hit Mayotte in 90 years, officials said, leaving a trail of destruction and flattening entire neighborhoods as it passed. Mayotte, a densely populated archipelago of over 320,000 people off the east coast of Africa, is also home to an estimated 100,000 migrants. Many people live in precarious shantytowns, which were the worst hit by Chido.

More than 100 others died in Mozambique and Malawi as Chido moved on after smashing Mayotte and made landfall on mainland Africa.

While Dikeledi was not expected to be as strong as Chido — which brought winds of more than 200 kph (124 mph) — authorities were expecting more rain and mudslides were a major risk, said Mayotte Prefect Francois-Xavier Bieuville, the French government's top official on the islands.

November to April is cyclone season in the southwestern Indian Ocean, and the region has been pummeled by a series of strong ones in recent years. The worst was Cyclone Idai in 2019, which killed more than 1,500 people in Madagascar, Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe and affected more than 3 million people.

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