One dead as French Indian Ocean island hit by major storm
SAINT-DENIS DE LA REUNION: Hundreds of thousands of people on France’s Indian Ocean island of Reunion hunkered down in their homes under a strict lockdown on Monday as a devastating storm that has already left one dead started to rip through the territory.
Cyclone Belal hit Reunion, one of France’s overseas territories that span the globe from the Caribbean to the Pacific, moving in from the northwest packing “extreme winds”, according to Meteo-France.
“The eye of the storm is passing over the Reunion Island, starting from the northern part,” the meteorological service said in its latest public bulletin. It had previously said that Belal is not, however, expected to become an intense tropical cyclone.
“We’re into the hard part,” prefect Jerome Filippini, the island’s top Paris-appointed official, told France Inter. “We will have a difficult and dangerous Monday”.
While initial damage was still moderate “one homeless person who had not taken shelter” died as a result of the storm in the western settlement of Saint Gilles, the prefecture said.
In preparation for gusty winds that could exceed 250 kilometres per hour in the highlands, authorities hoisted the violetlevel alert, indicating imminent danger, at 6:00 am (0200 GMT), putting all 870,000 inhabitants, including the emergency services, on strict lockdown. “All circulation is formally prohibited for any reason whatsoever, and until further notice,” the official statement said. Even security forces have been prohibited from moving.
Reunion, known as La Reunion in French, is located east of Madagascar and has a population of almost 900,000.
Authorities urged islanders to stock up on food and water and stay indoors for 36 hours. They were told not to leave home “for any reason”, unplug all devices, not use tap water and only use the telephone for an emergency.
Expecting waves up to 13-15 metres high, the entire coastline was put on alert.
Many balconies and gardens had been cleared of any objects that could be carried away or broken, and shopkeepers took in removable signs.
“We are not going to play heroes, we were told to stay at home,” Jules Dafreville, who lives in the capital Saint-Denis, said on Sunday.
“I returned in the middle of the afternoon and I don’t plan to come out before... Tuesday morning.”
The island’s main airport said it was suspending flight operations.
French President Emmanuel Macron took to social media on Sunday to urge residents to stay indoors.
“Be careful, stay at home,” he said on X, formerly Twitter.
The last major cyclone to hit Reunion was in 2014.