Barricaded Reunion. The island is in hurricane alert since 6 a.m. this Wednesday, 3 a.m. in Paris. This decision is taken for fear of cyclone Batsirai, described as potentially “very dangerous”. Wednesday at midday, it was less than 300 km from the coast of the island, according to Meteo France. The prefect of La Réunion has therefore decided to trigger the red alert “I am confining myself” of the specific ORSEC Cyclones system from this Wednesday, February 2 at 7 p.m. local time (4 p.m. in mainland France). Since 3 p.m. (on site), no more planes have taken off or landed on the tarmac at Roland-Garros airport. An hour later, the population was confined.
“We are going to be affected by a large-scale hurricane phenomenon. Batsirai is an intense tropical cyclone generating average winds of the order of 200 km/hour”, warned the prefect Jacques Billant during a press conference on Wednesday afternoon.
“This cyclone will cause a sharp deterioration in weather conditions with rain, wind, swell. Degradations which will go crescendo throughout the night until the passage of the cyclone closest to the island, at 4 am (1 hour in Paris), period at which it should be 100 or 200 km from our coasts”, continued the prefect).
Schools and universities are closed. Airlines have adapted their flight schedules. The rotations of this Wednesday are advanced and those of Thursday canceled. The coastal road closed at 7 p.m. (4 p.m. in Paris), because of the very strong swell, specifies the chain Meeting the 1st. Emergency accommodation centers started to open in the different municipalities of the island.
Jean-Paul, a tourist from Nantes who comes every year to spend between two and three months in Reunion, is on his third cyclone. “The latest, in 2018 (baptized Dumasile) had been the strongest I had ever experienced. There was so much rain that we couldn’t go out. Here, I am not particularly worried. “Elizabeth, one of her friends, this is the first stay in Reunion is also serene: “In mainland France, with the climatic disturbances, we also have storms. There, it makes a pretty sight. Many shades of blue on the surface of the Indian Ocean, as many shades of gray in the sky. That’s what Claudia, a school nurse who has lived on the island since 2003 and who came to Les Brisants beach in Saint-Gilles-les-Bains to take some pretty pictures. “I’m not afraid, when he passes, we’ll stay at home,” she said.
Residents have been making predictions since Monday
In the meantime, residents need to prepare. This is the case of François, a resident of Saint-Paul who arrived in Reunion in 2003. On his veranda, he brought in the flower pots and the cushions to prevent the wind from dispersing everything: “We have experienced a lot of cyclones. The most impressive was Gamède in 2007, in addition he had passed twice”.
Since Monday, supermarkets have experienced an increased influx compared to that usually noted at the beginning of the month. Restocked several times a day, the mineral water and preserves departments are particularly visited.
After passing through the region, Batsirai will head for Madagascar, where the forecasts are not good. Météo France estimates that the island will be affected “at the end of the week” “in particular the region of Mahanoro. A major impact therefore appears likely for this region. Heavy rains could concern the southern half of Madagascar”.
Power cuts in Mauritius
In addition, this Wednesday afternoon, a total of 7,500 homes were without electricity in Mauritius after Cyclone Batsirai passed off its coast, announced the Central Electricity Board, an organization that oversees electricity distribution. . These cuts were caused by falling trees, which also disrupted the telephone network, said the operator Mauritius Telecom.
Before heading for Reunion, the tropical cyclone passed closest to 130 kilometers northwest of the island on Wednesday around 3:30 p.m. local time (10:30 a.m. in mainland France), according to the meteorological services which declared that the alert, announced Tuesday, would be lifted in the evening.
Gusts exceeding 120 km / h were recorded at several points on the island during the day on Wednesday, with peaks of 151 km / h in Port-Louis, the capital located in the northwest of the island. Mauritius had been at a standstill since Tuesday afternoon: public transport, banks and shops as well as the airport and the port remained closed.