Cyclone Belal hit Reunion yesterday. The entire island has been under a red alert since 1pm on Monday. Despite the confinement imposed as a safety measure, some people are braving the bad weather to go out.
The Prefect of La Réunion and the Interregional Director of Météo France Indian Ocean provided an update late on Monday. Cyclone Belal continues to move away from Réunion. The red alert will be maintained on Tuesday morning.
Yesterday morning, Réunion’s authorities had raised the storm warning level to violet, the highest level, as the cyclone approached, prohibiting even police and rescue workers from leaving their shelters. Despite the warnings, Réunion appears to have been spared by the cyclone, the eye of the storm having passed to the north. Jerôme Filippini, the region’s prefect, declared that the cyclone had not had the “cataclysmic character” initially feared.
In La Plaine-des-Palmistes, the overflowing of the Ravine sèche led to the flooding of homes. Several cars were swallowed up by the rising waters.
One person was killed on Reunion Island, where some 860,000 inhabitants were ordered to shelter in their homes, but the eye of the storm avoided the island. The only confirmed fatality was a homeless man. Authorities said the victim had refused emergency shelter.
Around a quarter of the island’s homes were without power and thousands were without running water on Monday.
“We will have reinforcements arriving tomorrow with more than 100 firefighters, EDF agents, DIS and gendarmerie reinforcements. Reinforcements from Mayotte, 30 firefighters are also arriving”, he adds. he adds.
However, the Prefect of La Réunion already expects Roland Garros airport to reopen at 6.30pm on Tuesday evening.
However, health authorities have asked the population not to use tap water for drinking or cooking.
