A beginning of improvement is emerging this Sunday.
The vigilance in force in Guadeloupe has returned to orange for a risk of "heavy rains and thunderstorms", after 24 hours of red vigilance following the passage of storm Fiona, according to a bulletin published by Météo France.
If the weather is heading for the better, the “heavy or even stormy precipitation continues in the evening”, underline the forecasters, in particular for Basse-Terre, already very affected by the torrential rains of the storm since Friday.
Tropical Storm #Fiona shifts into the Caribbean, and then threatens Puerto Rico, with likely intensification to #hurricane stage.
meteofrance guadeloupe: https://t.co/HdU81pMz9h pic.twitter.com/9zk0MPvjhM
— VigiMeteoFrance (@VigiMeteoFrance) September 17, 2022
The west coast of Basse-Terre and the Saintes archipelago also remain on orange alert "waves-submersion", according to Météo France.
Over the entire duration of the episode, the accumulations of rain reach more than 500 mm in places and could "reach 600 mm or even more locally", further specifies Météo France.
The two main islands that make up Guadeloupe, Grande-Terre and Basse-Terre, are separated by a narrow stretch of sea.
Exceptional rain accumulations at the passage of #Fiona in #Guadeloupe.
For the climatological day of September 16 (from September 16 08h to 17 08h), more than 200 mm on La Désirade and a large part of Basse Terre, maximum of 448 mm at Capesterre Belle Eau (Neufchâteau substation).
pic.twitter.com/9MCRAfRefa
— Gaétan Heymes (@GaetanHeymes) September 17, 2022
On the most affected, "accumulations of more than 300 mm in six hours have already been recorded", specified Météo France in its bulletin on Saturday morning, the equivalent of several months of rain.
“The rivers overflowed in Baillif, Basse-Terre and Vieux-Habitants and led to evacuations and sheltering in communal facilities for around fifty people”, specified the prefect.
Rising waters, landslides, cut roads...
A man died "carried away with his house" by the waves of a river in flood, between Friday and Saturday, the prefecture said on Saturday.
All the activities of the weekend - sports competitions or Heritage Days... - had been canceled or postponed, and all the stores were closed, pending the end of the meteorological event, envisaged on Sunday morning.
The improvement should occur this Sunday for the archipelago, while moving away from its coast Fiona should strengthen and go from storm to hurricane overnight.
Storm Fiona, which formed Thursday in the center of the ocean, is now heading south of Puerto Rico.
An archipelago very affected by climate change
Rises of water having reached 1m50 in places, cut roads, landslides... "Several municipalities are in a situation of desolation", noted Saturday in a press release the president of the Departmental Council Guy Losbar, by requesting "the recognition of the state of natural disaster ".
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In this archipelago of the Lesser Antilles very concerned by climate change, the state of natural disaster had already been recognized in May for several municipalities affected at the end of April by floods which had killed two people.
