Sarah Keith-Lucas
BBC Weather

The specific impact of climate change on Cyclone Chido will be studied by scientists over the coming weeks, but there are some trends in global cyclone activity that show a clear link to human-induced climate change.

Although the overall number of cyclones has remained unchanged (or even decreased slightly) over recent decades, a higher number of these storms are reaching a more intense status, equivalent of a major category three hurricane or stronger.

Warmer air can hold more water, so the amount of rain that fell with Chido - especially during its time over land - is likely to have been enhanced by climate change.

For every 1C of warming, the atmosphere can hold 7% more moisture, so in storms such as Chido, rainfall is expected to be at least 7% heavier than it would be in a world without climate change.

The sea surface temperature in the Mozambique channel is currently around 1.5C warmer than average. Warmer waters in the oceans hold more energy, so it follows that these storms may well become more energetic with time and be able to unleash even more rainfall.

Rapid intensification of cyclones is also more likely with higher sea temperatures and so the fact that this storm strengthened so quickly may have been partly due to climate change.

Image source, Unicef/APTN

Cyclone Chido also made landfall in Mozambique, where it uprooted trees, damaged buildings and brought flash flooding about 25 miles (40km) south of the northern city of Pemba.

Three deaths have been reported.

The cyclone caused structural damage and power outages in the northern coastal provinces of Nampula and Cabo Delgado on Saturday morning, according to local authorities.

"Many houses were destroyed or seriously damaged, and healthcare facilities and schools are out of action," says Guy Taylor, a spokesperson for aid agency Unicef in Mozambique.

Taylor says Unicef was concerned about "loss of access to critical services", including medical treatment, clean water and sanitation, and also "the spread of diseases like cholera and malaria".

Image source, Getty Images

The central hospital in Mayotte has suffered significant damage, French Health Minister Geneviève Darrieussecq says.

"The health system is seriously affected and access to care has been seriously degraded. The Mayotte hospital centre has suffered significant material damage," Darrieussecq says in an update posted to social media.

In separate remarks to broadcaster France 2, she specifies that the damage includes "major water damage and destruction, notably in the surgical, intensive care, maternity and emergency units".

Mobile medical services are being set up, Darrieussecq adds.

That's how Mathilde Hangard describes the current situation in Mayotte. She's a journalist with Le Journal de Mayotte – she lives and works on the island, but was speaking to the BBC World Service's Newsday programme from Paris.

The island was already dealing with social problems including a "water crisis" when the cyclone hit, she says, describing how around half the population is under 17.

She says it's very difficult to calculate the number of victims because many who live in the island's slums bury their dead within 24 hours "for religious reasons".

“It’s another day in hell, without water, without electricity, without network. The island is cut off from the world. Everything is destroyed, the airport, the hospital, schools" she says.

“Entire slums have been razed. It’s horrible," she says.

Image source, Getty Images

Sarah Keith-Lucas
BBC Weather

After clearing away from Mayotte, Cyclone Chido continued its path westwards, and made its third landfall on Sunday just south of Pemba in Mozambique at 08:00 local time (06:00 GMT).

Although it had weakened slightly, it was still a major cyclone, with a well-defined eye, and winds above 200km/h (124 mph).

The storm then continued to advance inland through Mozambique and Malawi.

As it now moves over land, the winds are weakening rapidly, and the storm has been on downgraded to a "depression".

The winds are around 48km/h (30 mph), but the main threat is now the rainfall.

Intense downpours are expected to lead to flooding and landslides as the system moves in a south-west direction.

During Monday, it will cross southern Malawi, then Mozambique’s Tete province, before heading towards Zimbabwe overnight into Tuesday.

In the path of the storm, there could be 150-300mm of rain by the end of Tuesday.

Image source, Getty Images

The situation on Mayotte is "chaotic", according to Eric Sam Vah from the French Red Cross.

He's based on the French island of Réunion - on the opposite side of Madagascar to Mayotte - and has been speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

He says he's been receiving reports from French Red Cross volunteers on Mayotte. They have around 200 people on the ground there, he says, but they have only been able to reach around 20 of them.

Most of their volunteers, he says, have been “personally affected”.

“We still have limited information because of the difficulty of communication," Sam Vah says, adding the French authorities sent the first aid to the island over the weekend and more support is expected.

Around 100,000 on the island live in slums, he says.

“Most of the slums have been totally destroyed. And we haven’t received any report of displaced people. So the reality could be terrible in the coming days," he says.

Richard Kagoe
BBC News, Nairobi

Image source, Getty Images

It's a struggle for the rescue teams in Mayotte who have begun the search for possible survivors following the devastating cyclone over the weekend.

So far, France has deployed 110 soldiers, with an additional 160 expected to arrive later today when the French interior minister visits.

But it’s difficult because the search operation has been hampered by damage to the infrastructure across the island.

Moving around is also hard as the roads have been damaged, the power lines are down, and communication has been cut.

It's a very desperate situation.

A resident of Mayotte's capital Mamoudzou tells of his terror as cyclone Chido made landfall on Saturday.

John Balloz, a 39-year-old musician and composer, is from Comoros in East Africa, and is seeking asylum in Mayotte, according to the Reuters new agency.

We've translated his comments in the clip below:

Sarah Keith-Lucas
BBC Weather

Cyclone Chido hit the far north of Mayotte at around 15:00 local time (12:00 GMT) on Saturday as an intense tropical cyclone, equivalent to a major category four hurricane.

Wind speeds of 226 km/h (140 mph) were recorded as the cyclone made landfall on the island.

Wave heights were also estimated to be between four and eight metres (13-28ft) on the north coast of the island.

It is the strongest cyclone to have hit Mayotte in 90 years.

Image source, EPA

French President Emmanuel Macron said there was a need for urgency as he committed to sending "reinforcements" to the French island territory of Mayotte over the weekend.

"My thoughts are with our compatriots in Mayotte, who have gone through the most horrific few hours, and who have, for some, lost everything, lost their lives," he said.

And in a post on social media on Saturday, Macron said he was "closely following the situation", adding "the whole country is on your side".

"Reinforcements are here, others will arrive tomorrow," he said, adding "it's time for urgency. We will be there today and tomorrow."

Entire communities were flattened when cyclone Chido made landfall in Mayotte, a French territory in the Indian Ocean, with the poorest living in makeshift shelters particularly hard hit.

Helen Willetts
BBC Weather

Tropical cyclones are powerful storms that cover large areas and are associated with some of the world’s most devastating weather.

They bring destructive winds, deadly storm surges and heavy rains, which can lead to flooding and landslides.

Cyclones like Chido are actually the same weather phenomena as hurricanes and typhoons - it just depends which ocean they originate from:

• Those that form in the Caribbean or North America are known as hurricanes
• In the Far East - close to China, Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam - they're called typhoons
• And cyclones form in the Indian Ocean and the southern Pacific

Image source, Reuters

Some of Mayotte's population of 320,000 say they are struggling with severe shortages of food, water and shelter.

One resident of the capital city, Mamoudzou, waiting for supplies, says: "We've had no water for three days now, so it's starting to be a lot.

"We're trying to get the bare minimum to live on, because we don't know when the water will come back."

Mohamed Ishmael, another Mamoudzou resident, tells Reuters news agency the situation there was "a tragedy".

"You feel like you are in the aftermath of a nuclear war… I saw an entire neighbourhood disappear," he says.

Image source, Reuters

The first planes carrying first aid from France arrived in Mayotte on Sunday night.

"The state is fully mobilised to support the inhabitants of Mayotte in this ordeal," Nicolas Daragon, France's minister for everyday security, said on X last night., external

Mayotte is a French island in the Indian Ocean.

It lies in the north of the Mozambique channel off the coast of south east Africa, between Madagascar and Mozambique.

Mayotte is made up of two main islands: Grande-Terre and Petite-Terre. The nearby Comoros cover three small volcanic islands. Unlike Mayotte, Comoros declared independence from France in 1975.

Mayotte has a population of 321,000 people. Earlier this year, we reported on the hundreds of migrants who arrive every week, many from Comoros.

Image source, Reuters

Rescuers are trying to reach survivors on the French island of Mayotte after the territory, off the coast of east Africa, was hit by a cyclone over the weekend.

Entire settlements were flattened when Cyclone Chido brought wind speeds of more than 225km/h (140mph), with the poorest living in shantytowns particularly hard hit.

The death toll could reach "close to a thousand or even several thousand", the island's prefect, Francois-Xavier Bieuville, says.

France's interior minister Bruno Retailleau is travelling to the island today with 160 soldiers and firefighters to reinforce the 110 already there, the AFP news agency reports.

Stick with us for updates throughout the day.