Reports of widespread damage are emerging from Mayotte after a 100-year cyclone ripped across the French archipelago Saturday, inflicting devastation that one resident likened to an atomic bomb, with hundreds and possibly even thousands of feared victims.

With areas still inaccessible, France's acting Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said it would take days to ascertain the full extent of damage and deaths.

Authorities in Mayotte fear hundreds and possibly thousands of people have died in Cyclone Chido, although the official death toll on Monday morning stood at 14.

Rescuers raced against time Monday to reach survivors after a devastating cyclone ripped through the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte, destroying homes across the islands, with hundreds feared dead.

Video. The people of Mayotte are trying to assess the damage caused by the passage of Cyclone Chido over the weekend.

Cyclone Chido brought widespread devastation to the French territory of Mayotte, where hundreds are feared dead.

France used ships and military aircraft to rush rescuers and supplies to Mayotte on Monday after the tiny French island territory off Africa was battered by its worst cyclone in nearly a century. Authorities fear hundreds and possibly thousands of people have died.

Local officials in the French territory Mayotte fear as many as 1,000 people have died after Tropical Cyclone Chido hit the archipelago off the coast of Mozambique on Saturday.