Mayotte: Dzaoudzi-Pamandzi International Airport to reopen to commercial traffic on Jan. 1 /update 4

Dzaoudzi-Pamandzi International Airport (DZA) will reopen to commercial flights on Jan. 1, after its closure caused by Tropical Cyclone Chido.

Disruptions caused by the passage of Chido are likely to persist across Mayotte through at least late January. The latest official casualty toll indicates that the storm killed at least 39 people and injured 4,000 more, but officials are warning that several hundred people may have died. Officials are maintaining a safeguarding alert amid recovery operations and advised residents to limit nonessential travel.

• An islandwide 22:00-04:00 curfew remains in place.

• Officials have warned of the threat of disease and are advising people to drink bottled water or to boil tap water.

• Informal settlements have been severely impacted with widespread damage to residential structures, particularly in the northeast, where more than half of buildings have been damaged or destroyed.

• Access to phone, internet, and electricity services is gradually resuming, but it is unclear when services will be fully restored. About half of homes have access to power.

• Most roads have been cleared but ground transport remains disrupted, in addition to a lack of fuel availability.

• Commercial barges have reopened for pedestrians.

Normal operations and services are likely to take several days or weeks to recover following the impact of the storm. The threat of disease outbreaks cannot be discounted in the coming days and weeks. Backflow from drains that have mixed with floodwaters can become trapped in open areas when inundations recede. These stagnant pools often become a breeding ground for mosquitoes and bacteria, increasing the incidence of insect- and waterborne diseases. Exposure to contaminated water from inundated industrial sites, sewer systems, and septic tanks also poses a significant health threat. Protests denouncing the government's response remain possible.