Accordingly, France has organized planeloads of logistic aid, sanitary personnel, and dogs specialized in the search for people buried under the rubble, to help islanders cope with the aftermath of the storms, that unleashed winds of up to 220 kilometers per hour, according to official sources.

The force 4 storm on a maximum scale of 5, the most brutal in this part of Africa in almost a century, also hit parts of Madagascar and shook the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado, where it caused damage that has yet to be quantified.

In Malawi and Zimbabwe, countries located in southern Africa, authorities began evacuations of residents due to flooding, another destructive aftermath of the weather phenomenon.

Indian Ocean hurricanes are becoming increasingly powerful because of climate change, which is also responsible for prolonged droughts, wildfires, heavy rains and other disasters, according to a recent study by a specialized European Union institute.

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