The French island located in the Indian Ocean went into orange cyclone alert this Saturday, January 13, synonymous with “danger within 24 hours”, due to the approach of tropical storm Belal which could transform into a “very cyclone dangerous “.
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“ We must take seriously, even very seriously, what is happening », Warned the prefect of Reunion Island, Jérôme Filippini, during a press conference. “ You need to stock up on water and food, prepare to be self-sufficient for a few hours or a few days, have your first aid kit. You have to ask yourself now (the question) where you will be safe from Sunday evening », insisted the prefect of this French department and region of some 870,000 inhabitants, announcing the activation of the orange cyclone alert.
The orange alert is the second level of the cyclone alert system, which has four. It means that “ a cyclonic event (…) evolves in the area and represents a danger for Reunion Island within 24 hours », according to Météo France.
Named Belal, the storm is currently intensifying. The system should pass as close as possible to Reunion between the end of the night from Sunday to Monday and the day of Monday. According to current forecasts, the eye of the cyclone could pass approximately 100 km from land, between Reunion and Mauritius. It would then be “ at the cyclone stage, or even intense cyclone as close as possible to Reunion Island. Significant impacts expected due to winds, rain and swell », Detailed Céline Jauffret, interregional director of Météo France.
Météo France predicts gusts of more than 150 km/h on the heights of the island. But in the event of a direct impact on the island, winds could exceed 220 to 250 km/h. Swells exceeding six meters and heavy rainfall are also expected.
Reunion has not been hit by an intense cyclone for ten years and the passage of Bejisa in the first days of 2014. Asked about the triggering of the red alert, synonymous with imminent danger, the prefect replied that this passage was “quite likely”, even if “it is much too early” to give the day and time of its activation.
(With AFP)