French Prime Minister François Bayrou believes dozens of people died when Cyclone Chido hit the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte on 14 December, rather than thousands as some have feared.
Bayrou told BFMTV he thought the "alarmist and sometimes terrifying numbers put forward won't be borne out in reality".
The confirmed death toll on Mayotte so far is 35 but, in the immediate aftermath of the cyclone, local prefect François-Xavier Bieuville feared that it would "definitely be several hundred" and could reach thousands.
Comments