UPDATE ON THE SITUATION – The French archipelago located in the Indian Ocean is on red alert due to tropical storm Dikeledi, a few weeks after being devastated by a first cyclone. A village is already completely flooded.
The Mayotte archipelago, placed on red alert since Saturday 10 p.m., faces tropical storm Dikeledi on Sunday, less than a month after the devastating passage of Cyclone Chido. The 320,000 inhabitants of the poorest department in France were invited to take shelter “in a solid dwelling” or in one of the 79 emergency accommodation centers (schools, MJC, mosques, etc.) set up in all the municipalities of the archipelago.
The population was called upon to stock up on water and food. Throughout the duration of the alert, all traffic is prohibited except for emergency services and authorized people. But in Mamoudzou, people were in the street, local media journalists noted, some taking advantage of the rain to wash their vehicles.
At 12:14 p.m. local time (10:14 a.m. in Paris), the tropical storm was 120 km south of Mayotte, Météo-France indicated in its latest situation update. Dikeledi was moving in a west-southwest direction at a speed of 30 km/h.
Torrential rains fall on Mayotte
On the island, rain and wind intensified in the morning. “Very heavy rain with the potential to cause flash flooding, flooding and landslides is expected in the coming hours and much of the day. Gusts of up to 80 to 90 km/h are possible, particularly on the southern part of the island.warned Météo-France.
According to the public news channel Mayotte La 1ère, torrential rains fell on Sunday morning on the Mayotte archipelago, causing flooding particularly in the village of Mbouini, which was the only one to have been spared by the passage of the cyclone. Chido.
Cyclone warning downgraded to tropical storm
After reaching the northeast coast of Madagascar on Saturday afternoon, the cyclone began to weaken and was downgraded to the stage of a strong tropical storm, with wind gusts reaching 130 km/h at sea, according to Météo -France. But Dikeledi should gradually regain strength when he leaves the land.
At 5:56 a.m. local time (3:56 a.m. in Paris), the storm was 260 km from the southeast coast of the archipelago, moving at a speed of 22 km/h. “In terms of impacts, the province of Antsiranana in Madagascar has suffered the most intense conditions in recent hours”but intense winds and rain “should gradually decrease” and the conditions “improve during the morning”specifies Météo-France.
After passing through the Mozambique Channel, Dikeledi is expected to pass a little more than 100 km south of Mayotte at the stage of a tropical storm on Sunday afternoon before being classified as a tropical cyclone again on Monday during the day.
“Subsequently, it will continue to intensify, possibly reaching the stage of intense tropical cyclone by making a turn towards the south then the south-east at the beginning of next week, more or less close to the African or Malagasy coasts”specifies Météo-France in its latest bulletin.
In the Comoros, heavy rains are expected during the day and in Mozambique, “even if the trend is for the system to turn a little more towards the center of the channel, it is a mature system which could approach the coasts of the province of Nampula” Monday, according to Météo-France. Heavy rain, strong winds and dangerous sea conditions with marine submersions are thus “possible”.
Waiting for, “a significant rainy and windy deterioration” East “expected in the next few hours” in the Mahorais archipelago, which can generate flash floods, floods and landslides.
Gusts of up to 80 to 90 km/h are “possible”particularly on the southern part of the island. A dangerous sea state, particularly in the western lagoon, could also accompany this degradation with a risk of marine submersion.
Barge traffic (local ferries) has been stopped since Saturday 7:00 p.m. local time. The Marcel-Henry international airport closed its doors at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, until further notice.
645 civil security personnel mobilized
Some 645 Civil Security personnel are pre-positioned in strategic locations in the archipelago to intervene as quickly as possible following the cyclone alert in order to “provide relief, assess the damage and assist the population”indicated Civil Security. The Minister of Overseas Manuel Valls assured that “nothing (was) left to chance” to ensure the safety of the Mahorais.
“We are very worried given what happened the first time”however, confided Saturday Ali Ahmed, a resident of Mamoudzou, to an AFP correspondent on site. Images broadcast on the Mayotte-La 1ère TV channel showed families stocking up in stores, particularly with packs of water. “We make sure we have everything at home”Mohamed explained to the AFP correspondent on Saturday afternoon, before being confined.
Also read
Cyclone Chido in Mayotte: a census will be launched “with INSEE and the mayors”, announces Manuel Valls
Chido caused colossal damage, leaving at least 39 dead and more than 5,600 injured, destroying many precarious and permanent homes of the 101st French department.
Cyclones usually develop in the Indian Ocean from November to March. This year, surface waters are close to 30°C in the area, which provides more energy for storms, a global warming phenomenon also observed this fall in the North Atlantic and the Pacific.
