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WEATHER – The department has never experienced this and the residents have “very scared”. Mayotte went into purple alert this Saturday, December 14 before the passage of Chido, an intense tropical cyclone which is preparing to sweep across the Indian Ocean archipelago. The highest alert level was declared overnight while “the eye of the cyclone will pass over the north of Mayotte between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., causing a false calm”.
The purple level involves “strict confinement of the entire population, including emergency and security services and all agents mobilized to manage the crisis”specifies a press release published on X from the prefecture of this overseas department.
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“This is a serious time. Mayotte has never experienced such a situation”declared a few hours earlier the president of the departmental council, Ben Issa Ousseni. The president of the mayors' association judges this Saturday at midday that “the situation is catastrophic”.
The eye of the cyclone swept north of Mayotte early in the morning, and was located around 10:45 a.m. Paris time (12:45 p.m. local) west of the Indian Ocean archipelago, according to satellite images. It was heading towards the coast of Mozambique on the African continent, leaving behind a trail of still intense winds and rain.
In its latest bulletin at 7 a.m. Paris time, Météo France already described winds at 180 km/h which could reach 200 to 230 km/h. Winds greater, according to the meteorological service, than the intensity of cyclone Kamisy in 1984 which left thousands homeless and affected the population of the territory, today the poorest department in France.
Cyclone Chido is expected to lose intensity during the day
Saturday, Météo-France forecasts in Mayotte “very intense rain and possible marine submersion”weather conditions that cause “a risk of runoff and flooding, and sea swell which can have significant effects on the coastline”specified the prefect of Mayotte, François-Xavier Bieuville. “This is an unprecedented event, extremely violent”he stressed during a press conference.
Météo-France forecasters anticipate an improvement in weather conditions “from Saturday at the end of the day”.
To those who live in precarious housing, very numerous in the poorest department in France, the prefect had earlier advised to join one of the 71 accommodation centers “open to all” in schools and gymnasiums.
The priority concerns are the approximately 100,000 people living in “unsound dwellings” which were identified by the authorities, out of a total population estimated at 320,000 inhabitants in the archipelago.
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