In an off-the-cuff neighborhood close to Mayotte’s capital, Zaharia Youssouf sat in her broken dwelling, remembering her final dialog along with her husband, Baco Houmadi. She had sought refuge in a shelter whereas Houmadi, who had coronary heart issues, stayed behind with their son.
“I called him three times,” she stated. “The first time I asked if he was OK. The second time he told me that he and our son had eaten. The third call, I said, ‘Sweetie, can you cook for me, because there are bananas and fish at home?’ He said, ‘I’m not cooking for you.’ After that, I couldn’t reach him.”
Houmadi’s brother-in-law, Saandi Mbae, was with him when he died.
“We were under the table, and the tin was blowing, and we couldn’t go out,” Mbae stated. “At the start, we were talking, but then we couldn’t continue because he had a problem breathing. I looked at him again, and he really couldn’t breathe. Then I realized it was over — that God would do what he would do.”
Cyclone Chido struck Mayotte on Dec. 14, disrupting water and electrical energy provides and severing communications. It additionally left hundreds displaced. Many are struggling to rebuild.