Emergency workers raced on Monday to restore basic services to the French overseas territory of Mayotte, where hundreds or even thousands are feared dead from the most powerful cyclone to hit the Indian Ocean island in nearly a century.

The death toll in the French territory of Mayotte from Cyclone Chido is "several hundred" and may run into the thousands.

Several hundred people are reportedly feared dead while thousands are suspected to have been killed in Mayotte, France after Cyclone ‘Chido’ hit the French Indian Ocean archipelago, a senior French official said on Sunday.