France sends the army to ensure water to drought-stricken Indian Ocean island of Mayotte
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Monthly Digital Subscription
$1 per week for 24 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Billed as $4.00 plus GST every four weeks. After 24 weeks, price increases to the regular rate of $19.00 plus GST every four weeks. Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
Monthly Digital Subscription
$4.75/week*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Billed as $19 plus GST every four weeks. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Winnipeg Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
*$1 will be added to your next bill. After your 4 weeks access is complete your rate will increase by $0.00 a X percent off the regular rate.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/09/2023 (749 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
PARIS (AP) — France is sending military forces to distribute water on the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte, which is facing an unprecedented water crisis prompted by the island cluster’s most severe drought in decades.
Troops with the French Foreign Legion and French navy based in the region will work with local authorities to ensure water supplies to local populations, the Defense Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
Authorities have ordered water cuts two days out of three on Mayotte, a territory northwest of Madagascar that is the poorest part of France. The water woes come on top of migration tensions around people arriving from the neighboring country of Comoros.
Residents protested Saturday outside the Mayotte water management headquarters, carrying banners reading “Mayotte is Thirsty!”, according to local media reports. When the water taps are working, families fill up buckets and tubs as they can, but supplies quickly run low, especially in more remote areas.
Around 30% of the population doesn’t have access to running water at home, according to regional health authorities. They have noted an increase in the number of people suffering diarrhea, and diseases such as typhoid were already far more widespread than in mainland France.
Authorities appointed a special ‘’water prefect” this summer to deal with Mayotte’s most severe drought since 1997. Insufficient rainfall resulted in low water levels in reservoirs that residents rely on to get through the dry season from May to November.
Some reservoirs could be empty by the end of September, according to a statement last week from the regional administration. The reservoirs produce 20,000 cubic meters of water daily, when the needs are estimated to be 42,000 cubic meters per day, it said.
___
Follow AP’s climate and environment coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment