France's Macron arrives in cyclone-battered Mayotte as heavy rains hit islands

By Tassilo Hummel

MAMOUDZOU (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron landed in the storm-ravaged islands of Mayotte on Thursday, as heavy rains piled more misery on an estimated 100,000 people left homeless by Cyclone Chido.

Thousands are feared dead, but officials in France's poorest overseas territory have only been able to confirm 31 fatalities more than five days after Chido struck, the worst storm to hit the islands in 90 years.

Many areas in the Indian Ocean archipelago remain inaccessible. Heavy rain in the capital Mamoudzou and other areas has compounded the turmoil for thousands of people whose shanty town dwellings were flattened.

Macron was due to bring four tonnes of food and medical aid, and is expected to fly over the islands to survey the damage, his office said.

The French leader, whose government has been accused by opposition politicians of neglecting Mayotte, will also visit a hospital and a neighbourhood and meet officials, the presidency added.

The French government authorised price controls on essential goods including bottled water and construction material on Thursday.

Health workers say they are bracing for a surge of disease as dead bodies lie unburied and people struggle to get clean drinking water.

Officials have warned it will be difficult to work out how many have died in a territory that is home to large numbers of undocumented migrants from Comoros, Madagascar and other countries.

Official statistics put the population at 321,000, but many say it is much higher. Some victims were buried immediately, in accordance with Muslim tradition, before their deaths could be counted.

The death toll in continental Africa, where the storm hit after passing through Mayotte, stood at 45 in Mozambique and 13 in Malawi, officials in those countries said.

(Reporting by Tassilo Hummel; Additional reporting by Gabriel Stargardter and Makini Brice; writing by Ammu Kannampilly; Editing by Andrew Heavens)