Mayotte 'totally devastated':  'There will be long-term consequences on the island' - video Dailymotion

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00:00Well, we can speak now to Louis Clément Crampes, Deputy General Affairs Manager for the Protection

00:05Civile, an organization that brings together volunteer doctors, nurses, rescue workers.

00:10Thanks so much for your time and joining us here on France 24.

00:13We're just briefly looking at the extent of the devastation across the island of Mayotte.

00:20What are you hearing? It looks like it's bigger than anything previously there.

00:26Good morning. Thank you for receiving us.

00:28Yes, the Mayotte Island is totally devastated and we are very worried about the sanitary

00:34situation for the local population. It is kind of like the Saint-Martin Island in 2017 where

00:45the Protection Civil was also present. There are a lot of debris and the population lacks

00:53basic needs, that's food, water, shelter and urgent medical assistance.

00:58So is that, I mean, one wonders that with the extent of what we're seeing, one wonders where

01:02does one start when we, is it getting fresh water in? You know, we've even seen the hospital

01:06there in Mayotte so badly damaged. Yes, the hospital, all the infrastructure,

01:11even those in concrete buildings are very damaged. So we need to set up urgent medical assistance as

01:19fast as we can and also distribute water and food. So we are working with the distribution of food

01:25and water with the Association of Mayotte of France which is one of our key partners in crisis

01:30that affects the territories in anywhere in France or even in this island. And we are working with

01:36doctors and nurses to provide urgent medical assistance and the rescue workers are trained

01:41in debris clearing to support the affected local population as well. Indeed, it's such a part of

01:46the problem is gaining access to those in need. I mean, how long do you think it might take? I'm

01:52hearing that there's a field hospital on the way, but that might be towards the end of the week. How

01:56long do you think it will be to get significant amount of help onto the ground? Well, today the

02:01challenge is logistical. Getting to an island is very difficult. Today we can go by planes to

02:08La Reunion Island, but a plane has very limited space to the cargo and as well for the personal

02:15resources that go there. And from La Reunion to the Mayotte Island, this is very challenging

02:20because only small planes can go to the island today and very few boats. So, it is a logistical

02:25challenge and financial as well. Indeed, financial. You're a volunteer organization with a number of

02:30people are responding to the call, but when it comes to the supplies, I mean, is it the French

02:35government that helps or are you also relying on donations and where does that all come from?

02:40For the supplies, we are relying on donation totally. So, that's why we urgently need

02:47financial donations and anyone who wishes to contribute can do so. So, with the donations,

02:53we will be sending teams and I say teams because today we have 40 people that are going to

02:59commit for a 15-day deployment. They are volunteers, so they go 15 days and then we do

03:05another team for 15 days. As you said, there will be long-term consequences on the island,

03:11so we need as much financial means that we need. Indeed, there's the physical impact and,

03:17of course, the psychological impact, which I believe is something also the Protection

03:21Civile looks after. Yes, exactly. Our volunteers are trained for the psychological listening and

03:29help and there will be a lot of that. That's why we also provide temporary shelters. We did so

03:36after the Maroc earthquake also in 2023. The psychological listening in the shelters and

03:43temporary shelters are something we do as well. And I'm hearing there's a lot of things that

03:49could have been prevented in a certain way on this island of Mayotte. Things,

03:53you know, security measures not put in place before such a cyclone hits.

03:56Yes, well, we are focusing on basic, on delivering basic food and water right now

04:07and we will see the consequence after that. Indeed, a mammoth task ahead, Louis Clément

04:13Kremse and all those involved. Best of luck with that and thanks for taking time out to

04:18talk to us here on France 24. Thank you for your time as well. Thank you.

Mayotte 'totally devastated': 'There will be long-term consequences on the island'

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