00:00 The Cyclone Belal should impact directly and cross the French island of La Réunion in the Indian Ocean on Monday with extreme winds, according to the weather forecast of Météo France, without reaching the intense tropical cyclone stage.
00:12 The eye of the Cyclone Belal should hit, Monday, January 15 in the morning, the French island of La Réunion, on maximum alert and whose population is confined while the authorities are waiting for gusts of wind of 250 km / h and rivers in the rain.
00:26 The prefect of this regional department of the Indian Ocean of some 870,000 inhabitants has triggered the highest level cyclonic violet alert, synonymous with imminent danger, at 6 local time, 3 hours in Paris.
00:38 Until further notice, the island is under the threat of strict confinement, including for rescue and security services that can no longer circulate.
00:46 Midnight 43. We will enter the hard, in the most active phase and potentially the most dangerous of this cyclonic episode.
00:54 It is now that the difficult things begin, warned the prefect of La Réunion, Jérôme Filippini, during a press conference at 6 o'clock, 3 hours in Paris.
01:04 The center of the cyclonic system was located at 7 o'clock, about 100 km northwest of the island, said the Interregional Director of Météo France for the Indian Ocean, Céline Joffret.
01:14 The eye will directly impact La Réunion in the next hours, cross it, to evacuate to the southeast at the end of the day, anticipated this person in charge.
01:23 A brutal reinforcement of the winds in the next hours.
01:26 The tropical cyclone intensified on Sunday night to Monday, and the conditions on the island have deteriorated, with strong and durable rains that have already flooded some roads and a swell that has burst.
01:37 We are waiting for a brutal reinforcement of the winds in the next hours, already pointed at 140 km / h in Petite France, the gusts could reach, at the strongest of the event, 200 km / h on the coast and 250 km / h on the high inhabited, said Cécile Joffret.
01:52 And beware of the sign of the cheater, said the meteorologist, at the passage of the eye, there will be periods of calm.
01:59 They are temporary and do not mean that the cyclone is gone.
02:03 All day, we will have brutal jumps of wind.
02:06 Motive of relative relief, Bellal should not reach the state of intense tropical cyclone, according to the meteorology services, which compare its impact to that of the Firinga cyclone in 1989.
02:19 The meeting has not been hit by an intense cyclone for 10 years and the passage of Bejiza in the first days of 2014.
02:26 The authorities are also concerned by the set of waterways, for which a peak of rain is expected Monday at the end of the morning, according to the prefect.
02:34 Be careful, stay at home.
02:37 The state is mobilized on your side, wrote President Emmanuel Macron in a message posted on X Sunday.
02:43 We have proceeded as far as possible to evacuations.
02:47 My thoughts go to the inhabitants of the meeting faced with a terrible cyclone.
02:51 Thank you to all our public agents on the bridge to protect our fellow citizens, reacted Prime Minister Gabriel Attal on the same social network.
02:59 At this stage, the impact of the meteorological phenomenon on high- and limited networks, the prefect noted, evoking 3,500 inhabitants without electricity, 1,600 people deprived of running water and 7,000 fixed phones.
03:12 The housing centers set up have been still little requested, some 600 people have been admitted, including among the most precarious or vulnerable population in the event of a flood.
03:22 We have proceeded as far as possible to evacuations, to emphasize the prefect, stating that nearly 100 people had been put in shelter during the last operations held at the end of the evening and during the night, before strict confinement.
03:35 The Roland Garros International Airport, on the commune of Sainte-Marie, closed on Sundays from 4 p.m. to 1 p.m. in Paris, and all public transport networks were shut down at 6 p.m. to 3 p.m. in Paris.
03:46 The prefect renewed his encouragement to the Reunionese on Monday morning, who are showing patience.
03:52 They are taking part in managing this crisis while staying at home, he estimated.
03:57 With AFP
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