Reunion threatened by a “historically serious” cyclone | EUROtoday
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Fspace of shares of water, meals, being sheltered from Sunday and doubtlessly self-sufficient… Now shouldn’t be the time for jokes. “We must take seriously, even very seriously, what is happening,” defined the prefect of Reunion Island, Jérôme Filippini, throughout a press convention, cited by West France.
And in actual fact, the French division, threatened by a very intense tropical cyclone, will go into orange cyclone alert on Saturday from 7 p.m. (4 p.m. French time). Météo-France additionally pronounces devastating winds throughout the evening from Saturday to Sunday. According to the group, this alert, the second stage of the cyclone warning system out of 4, signifies that a “cyclonic event […] evolves in the area and represents a danger for Reunion Island within 24 hours.”
READ ALSO Why Cyclone Freddy may redefine basic bases of meteorologyThe average tropical storm known as Belal is presently positioned 550 km north of Reunion Island, the Reunion prefecture stated on X this Saturday, January 13. But it’s being intensified, indicated Céline Jauffret, the interregional director of Météo-France. It ought to move close to Reunion between the tip of the evening from Sunday to Monday and the day of Monday.
“A situation that we haven’t seen for ten years”
The eye of the cyclone may, extra exactly, move roughly 100 km from land, between Reunion and Mauritius. It would then be on the cyclone stage, and even intense cyclone as shut as doable to Reunion Island. “It’s a large-scale threat, a situation that we haven’t seen for ten years,” anxious Céline Jauffret on the La Réunion channel La 1re.
Tropical Storm #Belal has fashioned within the South Indian Ocean
Belal is forecast to accentuate over the weekend because it strikes towards the Mascarene Islands of La Réunion and Mauritius. pic.twitter.com/jVJCNyCSd7
— Zoom Earth (@zoom_earth) January 13, 2024
On the identical channel, the prefect of Reunion Island warned once more this Saturday: “We must prepare for a historically serious cyclone. » Météo-France predicts gusts of more than 150 km/h on the heights of the island. “A direct impact (on Reunion Island) is not excluded, which would involve winds exceeding 220 km/h in the low areas and reaching 250 km/h in the high areas,” warned Céline Jauffret. Reunion has not been hit by an intense cyclone since 2014.
“Get ready […] to be self-sufficient”
As a consequence, residents set up themselves as greatest they will. Water deliveries started and companies have been stormed this Saturday morning. “I came mainly to get water, you never know,” advised Agence France-Presse a mom who, on the checkout of a grocery store within the Port (west of the island) , had additionally put cans and candles in his cart. Residents have been requested to retailer miscellaneous gadgets at house and to seek out out in regards to the nearest evacuation facilities.
READ ALSO Ciaran and Domingos storms: the federal government releases an emergency fund for catastrophe victims “You have to stock up on water and food, prepare to be self-sufficient for a few hours or a few days, have your first aid kit. We must ask ourselves now the question where you will be safe from Sunday evening,” underlined the prefect.
https://www.lepoint.fr/environnement/climat-la-reunion-menacee-par-un-cyclone-historiquement-grave-13-01-2024-2549664_1927.php#xtor=RSS-221