Reunion Island is on alert. This Monday morning at 6 a.m. local time (3 a.m. in Paris), the island was placed on purple alert, the maximum alert, due to the passage of cyclone Belal.
While the worst of the cyclone seems to have passed at the beginning of the day, Reunion Island has gone back to red alert. "We can see the light at the end of the tunnel if Belal is kind enough not to be teasing and to have surprises in store for us between now and tomorrow," said prefect Jérôme Filippini.
Despite optimism about the situation and a cyclone that was less violent than expected, winds of 215 km/h were recorded according to the mayor of Saint-Paul and 1,000 mm were exceeded in 48 hours in the area of the volcano. A look back at this cyclone which is due to leave Reunion Island at the end of the afternoon
🟣 #LaRéunion #Belal getting closer.
Winds intensify here at 9:30 a.m. local time. #TerritoiresdeLouest where the winds are strongly strengthened.
No outings are allowed and possible.
Caution and vigilance. pic.twitter.com/WENaD1XRjb
— Outremers360 (@outremers360) January 15, 2024
1- Wind gusts of 215 km/h were recorded at Maïdo, the mountain peak of Reunion Island
AFP/ Richard Bouhet AFP or licensors
2- A lot of damage to the vegetation has been observed
AFP/ Richard Bouhet AFP or licensors
3- About thirty people were evacuated in the Étang district of Saint-Louis because of the swells that flooded the homes of the neighborhood
AFP/ Richard Bouhet AFP or licensors
4- "Belal is not expected to reach the stage of an intense tropical cyclone", according to the meteorological services
AFP/ Richard Bouhet AFP or licensors
5- The city of Saint-Denis, located in the north of the island, was hit by Cyclone Belal
The city of Saint-Denis, Reunion Island, this Monday morning, affected by cyclone Belal.
6-For the time being, 27,000 customers are without electricity and 55,000 people are affected by preventive water cuts
LP/ Sébastien Gignoux
7- Despite the ban on going out, some curious people went near the coast to watch the waves
Instagram @ndsprod33/ via Reuters
8- The purple alert has been lifted to allow road managers to carry out reconnaissance and measure the extent of the damage
DR
9- The authorities are "concerned about all waterways"
DR
10- Several boats sank in the marina in Saint-Gilles during the passage of the cyclone
🌀 #CycloneBelal #LaRéunion: Boats sank in the marina of #SaintGilles during the passage of #Belal.
➡️The island remains in #AlerteRouge🔴: only the emergency services can go out and intervene. The population must remain confined!
📸 #TerritoireDeLOuest, during the... pic.twitter.com/cYFgsR7Xtt
— Outremers360 (@outremers360) January 15, 2024