The authorities have decided to apply the purple alert and confine the people of Reunion Island until tomorrow for security reasons. Cyclone Belal fortunately moved away from the island after causing "seven hours of hell", as Sébastien Folin recounts in "C à vous".
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The producer and former weather presenter on TF1, originally from Reunion Island and whose family lives there, shares his expertise on Monday, January 15. "We're talking about a monster that's 1000,<> kilometers in diameter. Even though the strongest winds have passed, in the wake there is a lot of rain. The winds are devastating, but the most devastating thing is the rains," he said, before listing the floods and mudslides that are the inevitable consequences.
We have this culture of risk on our island
Sébastien Folin in "C à vous"
But "all the people of Reunion know this", says Sébastien Folin, who elaborates: "In general, there are very few victims because, in general, once again, the victims are unconscious people who went out when they shouldn't." The argument is simple, with such strong winds, the emergency services cannot intervene. "We have this culture of risk on our island," he said before saying that the rest of France and even Europe should follow the example of Reunion, accustomed to the passage of cyclones.
"We French are always in the process of defying things. I saw it when I was presenting the weather on TF1 and we were starting to have extreme events. There was always this criticism from the authorities when they issued alerts," recalls Sébastien Folin.
"When you blow the whistle, it's a good thing that something as dramatic as the one that was announced. The most important thing is that people are safe and sound," he continues, before alarming: "We know that there is colossal climate change. And what awaits us for the next few years is going to be dramatic. 50% of the world's populations live on the coasts. We need to be inspired by the idea that we have to stay in lockdown when the authorities decide to do so. And maybe also adapt our urban planning."