Saint-Denis de la Reunion (AFP) – At least four people have died in the Indian Ocean island of La Reunion during the passage of a devastating cyclone that sowed destruction across the overseas French territory, officials said on Saturday. On Friday, Cyclone Garance struck the territory of 900,000 people, uprooting trees, tearing off roofs, and flooding homes. Entire streets were inundated and cars washed away.
A red alert, ordering the population to stay indoors, was lifted on Saturday morning after Garance was downgraded to a severe tropical storm. The body of a man was found trapped under a tree in the capital, Saint-Denis, authorities said on Saturday, giving the new toll. The other victims, two women and a man, were carried away by flash floods, trapped in a mudslide, or killed by an electrical fire, authorities reported on Friday. Around 160,000 people were still without electricity, while more than 950 were staying in temporary accommodation centres. More than 310,000 residents had no access to drinking water, and nearly 140,000 were without internet access.
Patrice Latron, the central government representative on the island, said “a lot of work” would be needed, with many roads blocked by fallen trees. “Roads are flooded, roads are cut off and some washed away,” he said.
During the passage of the cyclone on Friday, French weather office Meteo-France recorded winds of up to 230 kilometres (143 miles) per hour in Piton Sainte-Rose on the island’s eastern coast. Latron said Garance was fiercer than cyclone Belal, which killed four people on Reunion in January 2024 and caused an estimated 100 million euros ($104 million) in damage. The island’s international airport was to reopen on Saturday evening. The nearby tourist island of Mauritius had shut its main airport on Wednesday, while Reunion had shut down flights on Thursday.
In Saint-Gilles-les-Bains on the island’s west coast, a ravine burst its banks, sending muddy water pouring through the town centre. Local council workers started clearing the mud from the streets early on Saturday morning. “We’re shovelling it away,” said one worker. “Residents are helping us but there’s far too much mud. We’ve had to bring in excavators.”
About 200 firefighters and military personnel were to be sent in over the weekend from Mayotte, a French territory nearly 1,500 kilometres away, and from mainland France, the government said. Floris Carpaye of the farmers union FDSEA stated that the agricultural sector had been hit hard, especially market gardening. “It’s a real catastrophe,” Carpaye said. “It’s going to cost tens of millions of euros.”
© 2024 AFP
