(Saint-Denis de la Réunion) The eye of tropical cyclone Belal is expected to hit the French island of Reunion on Monday morning, on maximum alert and whose population is confined while authorities expect wind gusts of 250 km/h and rivers in flood.
The prefect of this Indian Ocean department-region of some 870,000 inhabitants triggered the purple cyclone alert, the highest level, synonymous with “imminent danger”, at 6 a.m. local time (3 a.m. in Paris).
Until further notice, the island is under strict confinement, including rescue and security services, which can no longer circulate.
“We are going to get into the hard part […], in the most active and potentially most dangerous phase of this cyclonic episode. It is now that the difficult things begin,” warned the prefect of Reunion Island, Jérôme Filippini, during a press videoconference at 6 a.m. local time (3 a.m. in Paris).
The center of the cyclone system was at this time about 100 km northwest of the island, said Météo France’s interregional director for the Indian Ocean, Céline Jauffret.
“The eye will directly impact Reunion Island in the coming hours, cross it, and evacuate towards the south-east at the end of the day,” anticipated this official.
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.
“We expect a sudden strengthening” of the winds “in the coming hours”: already clocked at 140 km/h in Petite-France (west), the gusts could reach, “at the height of the event, […] 200 km/h on the coast and 250 km/h on the inhabited highlands,” explained Cécile Jauffret.
And watch out for misleading signs, the meteorologist reiterated: “as the eye passes, there will be periods of calm. They are temporary and do not mean that the cyclone is gone. All day long, we’re going to have sudden wind shifts.”
Reason for relative relief, “Belal should not however reach the stage of intense tropical cyclone”, according to the meteorological services, which compare its impact to that of cyclone Firinga in 1989.
Reunion has not been hit by an intense cyclone for ten years and the passage of Bejisa in the first days of 2014.
Evacuations before confinement
The authorities are also “concerned about all the watercourses”, for which a flood peak is expected late Monday morning, according to the prefect.
“Be careful, stay home. The State is mobilized at your side,” wrote President Emmanuel Macron in a message posted on X on Sunday.
“My thoughts are with the residents of Reunion Island who are facing a terrible cyclone. Thank you to all our public agents on deck to protect our fellow citizens,” reacted Prime Minister Gabriel Attal on the same social network.
At this stage, the impact of the meteorological phenomenon on the networks “is limited”, noted the prefect, mentioning 3,500 customers without electricity, 1,600 people deprived of running water and 7,000 of landlines.
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 carried out evacuations until the last possible moment,” underlined the prefect, specifying that “nearly 100 people” had been sheltered during final operations carried out at the end of the evening and during the night. , before strict confinement.
Roland-Garros international airport, in the commune of Sainte-Marie (north), closed on Sunday from 4 p.m. local time (1 p.m. in Paris) and all public transport networks stopped at 6 p.m. (3 p.m. in Paris). Paris).
The prefect renewed his “encouragement to the Reunion Islanders, who are showing patience”, on Monday morning. “They are taking part in managing this crisis by staying at home,” he said.