In order to allow emergency services to intervene, the prefect of Mayotte lifted the purple alert at 1 p.m. local time. However, the red alert remains in force and residents must remain confined.
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Published on December 14, 2024 at 4:01 p.m.,
updated December 14, 2024 at 4:21 p.m.
With the devastating cyclone Chido receding on Saturday December 14, the prefect of Mayotte decided at 1 p.m. local time (2 p.m. Réunion) to move from a purple alert level to red, in order to allow emergency services to intervene.
Residents must, however, remain confined, while “the cyclone is not over”warns the prefecture.
“Let’s stay confined in a solid shelter and show solidarity together in this ordeal” continues François-Xavier Bieuville, recalling that this cyclone “is the most violent and destructive we have known since 1934.”
“Many of us have lost everything”he adds, while the damage promises to be considerable. The eye of the cyclone passed over the north and northwest of Grande-Terre late in the morning, with extreme conditions associated with its wall.
Watch these videos collected by Mayotte la 1ère:
In Pamandzi, on Petite-Terre, gusts were measured at “at least 226 km/h”indicates Météo France. The cyclone is now moving westwards, and the island is expected to improve rapidly by late afternoon.
According to our information, it is already planned to bring in new reinforcements from France, who will transit through Reunion in the coming hours.
In a press release, the president of the Departmental Council of La Réunion held “to express our full solidarity with the victims of this catastrophic meteorological event.”
“We are following the development of the situation with interest and concern and remain mobilized to provide all the necessary assistance to the affected populations. It is for this reason that a contingent of firefighters was dispatched to Mayotte to support the forces civil security on site”recalls Cyrille Melchior.
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