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.

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