Officials have said that the death toll in Mayotte, currently at 35, could end up in the thousands. But in the capital, there were no scenes of public mourning and little talk of searches for missing loved ones.

The death toll from Cyclone Chido's rampage through the French overseas territory of Mayotte remained unclear on Wednesday, with shantytowns that were home to undocumented migrants flattened and many areas still inaccessible.

French Prime Minister François Bayrou believes dozens of people died after the cyclone hit the territory, rather than thousands.