Floods and mudslides from the second Dikeledi storm hit Mayotte

The French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte has been hit by more rain, causing flooding and mudslides, a month after Cyclone Chido devastated large parts of the islands and left dozens dead.

The archipelago was placed on the highest state of alert as another storm passed through on Sunday morning. Authorities warned of strong winds, flooding and landslides.

Videos on social media show downed power lines and some flooding. Local television reported that the southern town of Mbouini, which was untouched by Cyclone Chido, was under water.

The latest storm, Dikeledi, hit northern Madagascar on Saturday, killing at least three people.

The storm passed 100 km (62 miles) south of Mayotte around 09:00 GMT on Sunday, according to forecaster Météo-France.

“Terrible rains have started to fall,” Mayotte prefect François-Xavier Bieuville told French news channel BFMTV.

The first floods were causing “and fairly significant mudslides” throughout the territory, he added.

The prefect said the island was likely to remain on red alert until Monday afternoon, as heavy rain was expected to continue even after the storm passed.

At least 14,500 people have taken shelter in emergency shelters set up to protect them from the storm, BFMTV reported.

As of Sunday afternoon, the storm was moving away from Mayotte, Météo-France reported. The system is expected to slowly intensify over the next 24 hours to tropical cyclone status as it approaches the coast of Mozambique.

Current forecasts do not predict landfall in Mozambique, but the forecaster believes the Nampula region will experience “very degraded conditions”.

Mozambique is also recovering from Cyclone Chido, which killed 120 people in the country.

In Mayotte, one of the poorest places in France, many residents live in slums.

Officially, the archipelago has a population of 320,000, but the authorities estimate that around 100,000 to 200,000 undocumented migrants may also live there.

On December 14, Cyclone Chido became the worst storm to hit Mayotte in 90 years, bringing winds of 260 km/h and flattening areas where people lived in metal-roofed shacks.

Initial reports said hundreds of people were killed, but the toll was later reduced to 39.