Hurricane Kenneth, passed Wednesday 200 km north of Mayotte, "has caused several damage to the department without any casualties," said Thursday the prefecture of the island by press release.
First strong tropical storm, the low pressure system became cyclone Wednesday and the department was placed on Tuesday evening in triple vigilance: thunderstorms, strong winds, strong swell.
Suspended air traffic
Since Wednesday morning, schools are closed and air traffic suspended. The maritime rotations between Petite-Terre and Grande-Terre, which stopped Wednesday, gradually resumed Thursday at 14 hours for a return to normal scheduled for Friday, said the prefecture.
During the passage of the hurricane, 450 people were housed in colleges or in premises made available by communities, said the prefecture, because of the precariousness of their homes. According to the latest Insee survey of 2017, four out of ten households in Mayotte live in a house made of sheet metal, wood, vegetable or earth.
Electricity restored
Wednesday afternoon, "at the height of the crisis", 400 homes were temporarily deprived of electricity, now restored throughout the territory, said the prefecture.
The latter also counted 33 trees fell on the roadway, 6 damaged power poles and two landslides, these incidents still generating alternating traffic on certain sections of road. The main port of the island, Longoni (north), "should reopen" in the day of Thursday. Schools should again host students Friday and air traffic gradually return to normal, said the prefecture.
Having become an intense tropical cyclone, Kenneth is now approaching the Mozambican coast, according to the Météo-France website.