Reunion will go into orange cyclonic alert at 6 a.m. Wednesday, for fear of cyclone Batsirai, described as potentially “very dangerous”, currently about 600 kilometers from the Reunion coast, we learned Tuesday from Météo-France.
With gusts expected at 200 km / h, Batsirai should pass closest to Reunion Thursday morning. The eye of the cyclone will then be about 200 km from the coast, but “the exact distance remains to be specified given the uncertainty about the position of the system”, underlines Météo-France.
Schools and universities closed on Wednesday
Schools and universities will be closed from Wednesday morning. The airlines have already adapted their flight schedule. Wednesday’s rotations are brought forward and Thursday’s are cancelled.
If the current trajectory is maintained, “the extreme conditions prevailing at the heart of the phenomenon should not directly concern Reunion”, add the meteorologists. However, they specify that a “closer trajectory leading to a more marked deterioration in conditions cannot be ruled out at the present time”. Nor do meteorologists rule out an intensification of the phenomenon “up to the stage of an intense cyclone”
Last cyclone in 2018
The orange alert is the second degree in the scale of the four hurricane alerts. At this stage, the inhabitants are invited to secure their homes, not to undertake sea or mountain trips and to build up their reserves of food, water and candles.
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. The last passage of a cyclone near Reunion dates back to March 2018. Named Dumasile, the phenomenon had caused floods and impressive floods.