Returning to the stage of a strong tropical storm, Bheki could pass 100 km north of Rodrigues by tomorrow morning. At midday on Tuesday, November 19, the Mauritian authorities announced the move to the Class III alert level.
SG/SB
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Published on November 19, 2024 at 4:52 p.m.,
updated November 19, 2024 at 7:16 p.m.
If Bheki has weakened as expected, it could however have notable effects on the island of Rodrigues, where the now strong tropical storm is expected close to the coast late next night.
Update with Sophie Boudet:
Bheki will pass as close as possible to Rodrigues this evening
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©Reunion the 1st
So much so that at 1 p.m. today, local authorities decided to move to the higher alert level. While the island went from a class I to II alert on Tuesday, November 19 at 4 a.m., a class III alert was issued at 1 p.m. that same day.
At 4 p.m. the meteor was 350 km east-north-east of the island, still progressing at a speed of around 10 km/h in a west-south-west direction. Air Mauritius. Small in diameter, the system concentrates winds at 130 km/h in its center, and could pass just 100 km north of the coast of Rodrigues around 4 a.m. tomorrow morning.
Due to the issuance of a class III cyclone alert by the meteorological services, Plaine Corail airport in Rodrigues is temporarily closed. Air Mauritius is therefore canceling all its flights to and from Rodrigues until further notice.
Thus, the last two Air Mauritius flights scheduled for Rodrigues today at 6:25 p.m. and 9:05 p.m. were canceled. The same goes for the first five flights to Mauritius scheduled for tomorrow morning.
Activities at sea and on the coast, with peak swells of seven meters expected, are now prohibited.
The weather should deteriorate early in the evening, with heavy showers and winds of up to 120 km/h if the system's trajectory were to turn further south.
