A man has been found dead in Guadeloupe after tropical storm Fiona brought strong gusts, the equivalent of several months of rain and major flooding overnight from Friday to Saturday.
” The flood of the Rivière des Pères washed away a house in Basse-Terre », the capital of Guadeloupe, « and its occupant (…) was found deceased “Said this Sunday the prefect of the Guadeloupe region, Alexandre Rochette, in a press release published shortly after 8:30 a.m. local time (2:30 p.m. Paris time). ” The rivers overflowed in Baillif, Basse-Terre and Vieux-Habitants and led to evacuations and sheltering in communal facilities for around fifty people “, he added.
All weekend activities – sports competitions or Heritage Days – had been canceled or postponed. Most Guadeloupeans remained cloistered and all shops were closed, pending the end of the weather event, scheduled for Sunday morning.
In Capesterre-Belle-Eau, particularly affected by the floods on Saturday, Mayor Jean-Philippe Courtois called in the morning to ” the greatest caution “. ” Do not leave your home, the roads remain dangerous “, he wrote on Facebook, photos of damaged houses in support, and while the rain was still falling.
The river came down completely on us.
In Capesterre-Belle-Eau, the night was nightmarish
Sixth tropical system of the season
Rises of water having reached 1m50 in places, cut roads, landslides… “ Several municipalities are in a desolate situation “, noted in a press release the president of the departmental council, Guy Losbar, around 10:30 a.m. local time (4:30 p.m. Paris time). He requested “ recognition of the state of natural disaster “.
This archipelago of the Lesser Antilles is very concerned by the risk of flooding due to climate change. The state of natural disaster had already been recognized in May for several municipalities affected at the end of April by floods which had killed one person.
Sixth tropical system of the season over the Atlantic basin, storm Fiona, which formed Thursday in the center of the ocean, ” crossed the Guadeloupe archipelago last night, she is now in the Caribbean Sea and heading south of Puerto Rico “, in the north-west of Guadeloupe, specified Météo-France in its bulletin of 6 a.m. local time (12 p.m. in Paris). If Fiona” keep draining slowly “to the west and the Caribbean Sea” strengthening, without reaching the hurricane stage “, in Guadeloupe, the torrential rains “ should still last “, several hours, warned Météo-France.
(With AFP)