Europe 1 with AFP 2:42 p.m., September 18, 2022

After the passage of the storm Fiona in Guadeloupe, the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin announced this Sunday, that the state of natural disaster would be recognized by the "end of next week".

"The state will be there for our Guadeloupe compatriots," he assured. 

Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin announced on Sunday that the state of natural disaster would be recognized "end of next week" in Guadeloupe where storm Fiona caused major flooding and killed one person.

"With Jean-François Carenco (Delegate Minister in charge of Overseas), we have decided to speed up the procedure for recognizing the state of natural disaster", wrote Gérald Darmanin on Twitter.

"As of next weekend, we will sign it with my government colleagues. The State will be there for our Guadeloupe compatriots," he added.

Sixth tropical system of the season in the Atlantic, storm Fiona had moved away from the archipelago on Saturday.

Up to 534mm of rain

Meteorological vigilance returned to the yellow level on Sunday for "heavy rains and thunderstorms", after 24 hours of red vigilance, according to a forecast bulletin published Sunday at 6 a.m. local time (12 p.m. Paris time).

Météo-France has announced a "return to green" for the risk of waves-submersion and high winds.

Now several hundred kilometers from Guadeloupe, storm Fiona “continues its devastating route towards Puerto Rico with average winds of 100 km / h with gusts of 140 km / h”, noted Météo-France.

In its bulletin, the meteorological center of Guadeloupe described as "very impressive" the accumulations of rain measured since the beginning of the episode, in the night from Friday to Saturday, such as "534 mm in St-Claude (Matouba)" or the "502 mm at Capesterre Belle-Eau (Neufchâteau)".

Guadeloupe on the front line of climate change

On Saturday, the prefect Alexandre Rochette announced to AFP the death of a man "carried away with his house" in the waves of a river.

"The flood of the Pères River swept away a dwelling in Basse-Terre", the capital of Guadeloupe, "and its occupant (...) was found dead", he said in a press release.

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 one person.