the island on orange alert from tomorrow, gusts of nearly 300km/h recorded

A pre-cyclonic alert was issued in Mayotte this Thursday, December 12 as Cyclone Chido is expected to hit the island between Friday and Saturday. At their strongest, gusts are estimated at 295 km/h but forecasts may still change.

A pre-cyclonic alert was triggered in Mayotte this Thursday, December 12. The Indian Ocean island is preparing for the approach of intense tropical cyclone Chido, which is expected to hit French territory between Friday and Saturday according to forecasts. She will be on orange alert tomorrow. The phenomenon was 920 km from the Mahor coast and was moving at 22 km/h at the time of publication of the last bulletin. Weather France this Thursday. The most violent gusts are estimated at 295 km/h at sea. The cyclone and the power of the gusts may still evolve between now and its arrival on Mayotte. It is on Saturday that the bad weather should be the most severe with “strong winds, heavy rain and possible marine submersions”, according to Météo France.

But in anticipation of the worst, the French department took measures. “All educational establishments in our territory, from nursery schools to the University of Mayotte, will be closed” Friday and Saturday, the Mayotte academy said in a press release published Thursday. The prefecture also called on its residents to postpone all outings at sea, on the shores or in the mountains between Friday evening and Sunday, to stock up on water and food as well as to store or secure objects likely to be damaged. fly away and pose dangers.

The prefecture of Mayotte is taking steps, as is the Ministry of the Interior, which has announced it will send 110 civil security professionals (71 civil security rescuers and 39 firefighters from the fire and rescue service (Sdis ) from Reunion). “These resources will be deployed in Mayotte as soon as [vendredi] in order to be fully operational before the arrival of the storm”, specifies the ministry press release.

The last cyclone to hit Mayotte dates back to December 2019 and caused little damage, even if 15,000 residents were preventively relocated to accommodation centers. But the situation in Mayotte has since changed with many residents housed in shanty towns and makeshift homes.