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Fierce winds swept across the island on Monday
Photo: Richard Bouhet / AFP
On the French island of La Réunion in the Indian Ocean, the highest cyclone warning level is currently in effect. The government has imposed a curfew. Even rescue workers are not allowed outside.
"Be careful, stay at home," French President Emmanuel Macron appealed to the approximately 870,000 inhabitants of the island east of Madagascar.
Cyclone "Belal" has been moving over the region with strong winds since Sunday evening. The eye of the cyclone has arrived in the northwest of the island, the prefect of the French overseas territory, Jérôme Filippini, told the broadcaster France Info on Monday morning. Wind gusts of more than 150 kilometers per hour were measured. "Don't go out even if the weather seems calm," Filippini said. "That's probably just the eye of the cyclone."
The mayor of the city of Saint-Paul in the west of the island, Emmanuel Séraphin, told the broadcaster that in the early morning even winds with a speed of up to 215 kilometers per hour were recorded. In addition, the waves continue to increase.
Meteorologist Sébastien Langlade warned that such "destructive winds" could cause "great damage".
Highest Alert Level
Since Monday night and until further notice, the highest cyclone warning level has been in effect. The authorities had already ordered on Sunday that people would not be allowed to leave their homes from the evening onwards. On Monday, this order was extended to rescue and security forces until further notice.
Prefect Filippini told France Info that about 27,000 households had lost electricity. In addition, 55,000 people do not have running water, as this has been turned off as a precaution.
Most recently, the island was hit by a severe cyclone in the first days of 2014. At that time, one person had died and several were injured.
zob/dpa