Tropical cyclone Belal began to hit the island of Reunion on Monday morning, which is on high alert and whose population is in lockdown, with extremely strong winds and the first damage already being observed before the eye touched the island. The prefect of this overseas department-region of 870,000 inhabitants triggered the purple cyclone alert, the highest level, synonymous with "imminent danger", at 06:00 local time (03:00 in Paris). Until further notice, the French island in the Indian Ocean is under strict lockdown, including rescue and security services, which can no longer circulate.
Shortly after 09:00 local time, the violence of the wind increased considerably in the north and west of the island, affected by violent gusts and heavy rain, according to an AFP journalist on the scene. "We got into the hard stuff. The wall of the eye of cyclone Belal is reaching the northwest of the island, "commented the prefect Jérôme Filippini on France Inter. "We're going to have a tough and dangerous Monday on Monday. There is some initial damage," he added, referring to 27,000 customers without electricity, 55,000 people suffering preventive water cuts, and a fixed telephone line out of service for nearly 10% of subscribers.
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Fortunately, at this stage, there are no direct victims," he continued. In the western city of Saint-Gilles, the body of a homeless person was found near the gendarmerie barracks, although it was not immediately possible to know the cause of his death, AFP learned from the gendarmes. In the west of the island, the rains have already caused the flooding of several rivers, exceeding in places the flows of Cyclone Gamède in 2007 and carrying with them a lot of debris.
Winds at 250 km/h
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We expect a sudden reinforcement" of the winds "in the coming hours": already pointed at 140 km / h in Petite-France (west), the gusts could reach, "at the height of the event, (...) 200 km/h on the coast and 250 km/h on the inhabited highlands," explained the interregional director of Météo-France for the Indian Ocean, Céline Jauffret. And beware of misleading signs, the meteorologist reiterated: "When the eye passes, there will be periods of calm. They are temporary and do not mean that the cyclone is gone. All day long, we're going to have sudden swings in the wind."
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"Belal is not expected to reach the stage of an intense tropical cyclone," according to the meteorological service, which compares its impact to that of Cyclone Firinga in 1989. Reunion Island has not been hit by an intense cyclone for ten years and the passage of Bejisa in the first days of 2014. The authorities are also "concerned about all rivers", for which a flood peak is expected at the end of the morning, according to the prefect. The shelters set up have not yet been in high demand: some 600 people have been admitted, particularly among the most precarious or vulnerable population in the event of flooding.
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We carried out evacuations until the last possible moment," the prefect stressed, adding later that "nearly 120 people" had been sheltered during final operations carried out at the end of the evening and during the night, before the strict lockdown. Roland-Garros International Airport, in the northern town of Sainte-Marie, closed on Sunday at 16:00 p.m. local time and all public transport networks stopped at 18:00 p.m. local time. On Monday morning, the prefect renewed his "encouragement to the people of Reunion, who are showing patience". "They are taking part in the management of this crisis by staying at home," he said.
Cyclone Belal has arrived on Reunion Island, on high alert
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