Guadeloupe facing storm Fiona, red vigilance activated

WEATHER – The first effects of storm Fiona were felt during the night of Friday September 16 to Saturday September 17 in Guadeloupeplaced on red alert for heavy rain and thunderstorms since Friday shortly before 6 p.m. (midnight Paris time).

Some roads were already waterlogged in the evening, especially in Basse-Terre, where the bulk of the phenomenon was expected during the night. According to the latest bulletin from the Guadeloupe Meteorological Center, the center of storm Fiona was at midnight “in the Caribbean 40 km from Basse-Terre” and moved west. Gusty winds were forecast “up to 100/120 km/h” in Guadeloupe overnight, according to meteorologists.

Of the torrential rains generating “many floods” They were expected to intensify over the following hours and continue until early morning, often accompanied by thunderstorms, with rainfall totals of up to 150 mm or more in three hours. At 3:30 a.m. (9:30 a.m. in Paris), the firefighters had carried out 95 interventions, detailed Colonel Frédéric Lhomme, deputy departmental director of the firefighters of Guadeloupe at franceinfo.

Many heavy and stormy showers were expected until midday, according to the Guadeloupe Meteorological Center.

Residents urged to stay at home

Météo-France has also maintained orange vigilance for “strong winds” and “waves-submersion”. “All trips are to be avoided from now on (…) you really have to stay at home” for “avoid taking risks”insisted the prefect of Guadeloupe, Alexandre Rochatte, Friday evening in the local media.

The road to Saint Louis, “whose ford has already overflowed” was to be closed at 6 p.m. local time and the Route de la Traversée at 7 p.m. “due to the risk of falling trees”said the prefecture in a press release published late Friday afternoon.

Suspended from 7 p.m. Friday evening until Saturday 12 p.m., traffic will only resume depending on weather conditions, the statement also said.

All schools in Guadeloupe closed at noon on Friday and many residents tidied up the terraces, busy removing potential projectiles that could cause damage under the effects of the wind.

Sports competitions and heritage days canceled

In the supermarkets of the island, the queues at the checkout had been long Friday morning. Customers had notably stocked up on water packsto compensate for the cuts that often occur during severe weather. “I took three, that should be enough until Sunday, when the sun should come back”testified Mylène H., 56, on the shelves with a shopping cart filled with water and canned goods, ” in case “.

All weekend activities such as sports competitions, or Heritage Days, have been canceled due to the arrival of the storm. Heritage Days may be postponed ” at a later date “ the prefecture said in a statement on Friday.

According to Météo-France, Fiona “formed in the mid-Atlantic on September 15” and “this is the 6th tropical system of the season over the Atlantic basin”. This September 16 is also the anniversary of Hurricane Hugo, hurricane category 5 that devastated the island in 1989.

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