Storm Fiona: the state of natural disaster will be recognized in Guadeloupe
Major material damage in Guadeloupe after the passage of storm Fiona, September 17, 2022 © AFP / LARA BALAIS
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2 mins
This Sunday, September 18, the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, announced 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.
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“
As of next weekend, we will sign the procedure for recognizing the state of natural disaster with my government colleagues
,” wrote Gérald Darmanin on Twitter.
"
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 during the day of September 17.
Storm Fiona “
continues its devastating course towards Puerto Rico
”
Meteorological vigilance has returned to the yellow level for "
heavy rains and thunderstorms
", after a day 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 at 140 km / h
”, noted Météo-France.
Storm #Fiona:
With JF Carenco, we have decided to speed up the procedure for recognizing the state of natural disaster.
As of the end of next week, we will sign it with my colleagues from the Government.
The State will be there for our Guadeloupe compatriots
– Gérald DARMANIN (@GDarmanin) September 18, 2022
In its bulletin, the Guadeloupe meteorological center described as "
very impressive
" the cumulative rainfall measured since the start of the episode, on the night of Friday to Saturday, such as "
534 mm in St-Claude (Matouba)
" or the “
502 mm at Capesterre Belle-Eau (Neufchâteau)
”.
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 took away a dwelling in Basse-Terre
”, the capital of Guadeloupe, “
and its occupant
(…)
was found dead
”, he said in a press release.
An archipelago very affected by climate change
In this archipelago of the Lesser Antilles very affected by climate change, the state of natural disaster had already been recognized in May 2022 for several municipalities affected at the end of April by floods which had killed one person.
(
with AFP
)
►Also read
: A death in Guadeloupe after the passage of tropical storm Fiona
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Gerald Darmanin