This Monday, January 15 in the morning, the eye of cyclone Belal arrived on the French island of Reunion, now on red alert, causing the first death, a homeless person who had not taken shelter . The population must always remain confined, insists the prefecture.
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Shortly after 9 a.m. (local time), the violence of the wind increased considerably in the north and west of the island, affected by violent gusts and heavy rain, said an AFP journalist on site. “ We’ve really gotten into the tough stuff since this morning. The eye of the storm has arrived on Reunion Island, the wall has hit the north of the island », Said prefect Jérôme Filippini on the BFMTV channel. While the arrival of the eye may give a false impression of calm, he called on the population to remain confined, assuring that the cyclone would “ create serious risks » all day, with winds reaching up to 200 km/h.
A death
If the damage is still measured, “ the death of a homeless person who had not taken shelter is to be deplored in Saint-Gilles » (west), indicated the prefecture in a press release. The prefecture added that 57,000 customers, or 13% of households, are currently without electricity, and that almost 35,000 people are without water. “ No essential infrastructure is impacted “, she nevertheless underlined.
Reunion Island returned to red alert on Monday at 1 p.m. local time (10 a.m. in Paris) from purple alert, the highest level, to allow rescue teams to intervene and assess the damage caused by the cyclone. . During a videoconference, Jérôme Filippini explained that there is “ pending interventions ”, but warned that this shift “ changes nothing for the population », which must always remain confined.
The tropical cyclone intensified during the night from Sunday to Monday, and conditions on the island deteriorated, with heavy and lasting rains which have already flooded some roads and swells which deepened. Winds of up to 250 km/h on the heights of this mountainous island are feared. Reason for relative relief, “ However, Belal is not expected to reach the stage of an intense tropical cyclone. “, according to the meteorological services, which compare its impact to that of cyclone Firinga in 1989. According to Météo France, the eye wall passed north of Reunion without going inland, making it possible to avoid major damage. Céline Jauffret, interregional director of Météo France, specified that the eye should leave Reunion at the end of the afternoon.
Need of “ reinforcements »
Reunion has not been hit by an intense cyclone for ten years and the passage of Bejisa in the first days of 2014. However, the authorities are also “ concerned about all waterways », for which a flood peak is expected late Monday morning, according to the prefect. The accommodation centers set up have still been little used: some 600 people have been admitted there, particularly among the most precarious or vulnerable population in the event of floods.
“ We will probably need reinforcements », affirmed Jérôme Filippini on France Inter, specifying that civil security resources in particular should arrive “ on the island in the coming days, as soon as it is possible to land a plane safely at the airport “. Roland-Garros international airport, in the town of Sainte-Marie (north), closed on Sunday from 4 p.m. (local) and all public transport networks stopped at 6 p.m. (local).
(With AFP)
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