(Port-Louis) Mauritius was on alert Monday at the approach of an intense tropical cyclone baptized freddiewhich led to the closure of shops and the international airport of this archipelago in the Indian Ocean.
In the middle of the day, the streets, swept by gusts, were practically deserted except in front of the bakeries, where the buyers were making their last provisions in bread before the passage of the cyclone, announced around 5 p.m. local time (8 a.m. Eastern). .
At its closest, it passed about 120 km north of Mauritius, the Mauritius Meteorological Services (MMS) said, adding that at 10 p.m. (1 p.m. Eastern Time) “ freddie was centered about 240 km northwest of Mauritius”.
Authorities have issued a class 3 cyclone warning.
PHOTO LAURA EDWARDS VIA REUTERS
View of a beach in Belle Mare
About ten storms or cyclones cross the southwest Indian Ocean each year during the hurricane season, which runs from November to April.
The authorities of Reunion Island, located after Mauritius on the path of the cyclone and which awaits it overnight from Monday to Tuesday, have also placed this French department on meteorological alert.
In Madagascar, further west, the National Office for Risk and Disaster Management (BNGRC) announced in a statement that freddie was expected from Tuesday evening “with winds around 175 km / h and gusts of 250 km / h at the time of impact”.
It warns of heavy rainfall, a “very big to huge sea” as well as a “significant risk of coastal flooding” and invites sea users not to go out because of the “cyclonic swells” generated by the ‘hurricane.
Exchange closed
The cyclone freddie is an extremely strong cyclone which is a direct threat to and Rodrigues and Mauritius and of course Saint-Brandon, ”Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth said on Sunday evening.
Located several hundred kilometers east of the main island, in the middle of the Indian Ocean, Rodrigues and Saint-Brandon are part of the Mauritius archipelago, popular with tourists for its beaches and turquoise waters.
In the morning, the MMS had revised the strength of the cyclone downwards, from “very intense” to “intense”, with gusts of up to 280 kilometers per hour in its center (against estimated 300 previously).
In Rodrigues, the security advisory was lifted on Monday morning after the cyclone passed about 460 km from the island, which was heading west-southwest.
According to the MMS, the approach of freddie could cause the “submersion of certain risk areas of the coast” on the main island.
The economy there is at a standstill. In accordance with the protocols in force in Mauritius, the proclamation of a class 3 alert leads to the shutdown of all public and private sector services, such as shops, banks, petrol stations.
The Mauritius Stock Exchange, one of the continent’s financial strongholds, is closed.
Health and safety services such as the police and fire brigade continue to operate.
Mauritius International Airport was closed from 7:10 a.m. local time (10:10 p.m. Eastern Time), according to its website. The airport management has “asked travelers not to proceed to the airport without obtaining a departure confirmation”.