Wind gusts could reach 300 kilometers per hour.
Mauritius was on alert on Monday February 20 as an intense tropical cyclone called Freddy approached, with flights canceled and public transport disrupted on the Indian Ocean island, authorities said. The Mauritius Meteorological Services (MMS) has issued a class III cyclone warning, indicating that wind gusts could reach 300 kilometers per hour.
In this bulletin, it is specified that Freddy was at 7 a.m. (3 a.m., Paris time) about 275 kilometers north-east of Mauritius and that he was moving west / south-west at a speed of about 30 kilometers per hour.
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“On this trajectory, Freddy continues to approach dangerously close to Mauritius and represents a direct threat to the island.“, adds this warning by predicting”a rapid deterioration of the weather” in the middle of the day and “hurricane conditions” in the afternoon. Freddy, which is likely to cause coastal flooding, could pass about 120 km north northwest of Mauritius at its closest point in the early evening.
Orange alert in Reunion
Also threatened, the island of Reunion was placed on cyclonic orange alert on Sunday February 19 from 7 p.m. (4 p.m. Paris time), announced the prefect of this French department in the Indian Ocean, Jérôme Filippini. “The prefect decided to trigger the orange level of the specific device Civil security response organization (ORSEC) Cyclones from 7 p.m., i.e. 24 hours before the cyclone passes closest to La Réunion“, According to a press release.
All schools, from nurseries to universities, will remain closed on Monday and “presumably tuesdayalso, adds the text. But the economic life of the island continues and travel remains authorized. The red alert level prohibiting all movement and outings “will be triggered depending on the evolution of the situation“, specified the representative of the State.
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