New Caledonia is threatened by a tropical depression named Fili.
The far north of the archipelago has been placed on cyclone alert, authorities said on Tuesday.
In a press release, civil security announced that from 9 p.m. local time (12 p.m. in Paris), the small archipelago of Belep, where approximately 900 people live, in the far north of New Caledonia, will go into maximum level 2 cyclone alert. The population must remain confined to their homes while all activities are interrupted.
The rest of the territory is in hurricane pre-alert.
Heavy rains
Having become a strong tropical depression on Tuesday, Fili generates winds of up to 150 km / h in gusts as well as heavy rains.
It should pass about 180 km west of Bélep between Wednesday evening and Thursday morning, said Météo France-NC.
In Ouegoa, a village in the north of Grande-Terre, 130 mm of rain has already been recorded over the past 24 hours and a generalization of "very heavy rains" on the north and east coast of New Caledonia is expected. from Wednesday.
The authorities have warned of the possible overflow of rivers while New Caledonia has been subject for several months to exceptional rainfall, due to the La Niña climatic phenomenon.
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