Several thousand people may have been killed, Mayotte prefect Francois-Xavier Bieuville told told Mayotte La 1ere, a local broadcaster, on Sunday. All three are storm systems with winds exceeding 74 mph, but the name depends on where in the world the storm happens. Hurricanes happen in the North Atlantic Ocean and Northeast Pacific, typhoons occur in the South Pacific and the Indian Ocean, while cyclones take place in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, according to the U.S.’s National Ocean Service. Daniel Mouhamadi / AFP - Getty ImagesCyclone season in the southwest Indian Ocean usually spans from mid-November to the end of April, according to Météo-France. In 2023, over 1000 people died across Malawi and Mozambique after Cyclone Freddy, the strongest tropical cyclone ever recorded, barreled 5,000 miles across the Indian Ocean, where it pummeled Madagascar and Reunion before striking the African mainland.

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Persons: Francois, Xavier Bieuville, Bruno Retailleau, Kwezi, Daniel Mouhamadi, Freddy Organizations: Mayotte La, Getty, Getty Images Cyclones, Hurricanes, South Pacific, Ocean Service, Authorities Locations: Mayotte, AFP, Météo, France, Africa, Mamoudzou, Ocean, Northeast Pacific, South, Malawi, Mozambique, Madagascar