CAPE TOWN, South Africa —

At least 11 people have died after Cyclone Chido caused devastating damage in the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte, the French Interior Ministry said on Sunday.

The ministry said it was difficult to establish an exact number of dead and injured amid fears the death toll would rise. A hospital in Mayotte reported that nine people in the hospital were in critical condition and 246 others were injured.

The tropical cyclone blew through the southeastern Indian Ocean and also affected the nearby islands of Comoros and Madagascar. Mayotte was directly in the cyclone’s path and suffered significant damage on Saturday, officials said. The prefect of Mayotte said it was the worst cyclone to hit Mayotte in 90 years.

French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said on Saturday evening after an emergency meeting in Paris that there were fears that the death toll in Mayotte “will be high.”

According to the French weather service, Chido brought winds of over 136 miles per hour that ripped metal roofs off houses and destroyed many small buildings in Mayotte, where just over 300,000 people live on two main islands about 500 miles off the east coast of Africa.

In some parts, entire neighborhoods were leveled, while residents reported that many trees were uprooted and boats were overturned or sunk. The main airport was also badly damaged, said the French transport minister.

Mayotte, France’s poorest island, has previously struggled with drought and underinvestment.

Chido has now landed in Mozambique on the African mainland, where emergency officials had warned that 2.5 million people could be affected in two northern provinces. The landlocked countries of Malawi and Zimbabwe have also made plans and are preparing to be affected. Both countries warn they may have to evacuate people from low-lying areas due to the flooding.

A series of strong cyclones have struck the southeastern Indian Ocean in recent years, including Cyclone Idai in 2019, which killed more than 1,500 people in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe.