Cyclone Garance hits French Indian Ocean island of Reunion, residents urged to stay indoors

PARIS — Residents on the French Indian Ocean island of Reunion were urged to stay at home on Friday as Tropical Cyclone Garance brought heavy rain and winds exceeding 200 kilometers per hour (124 mph), causing floods, power cuts and damage to buildings.

The Reunion prefecture said in a statement that 683 people had sought refuge in emergency shelters and 54 had been evacuated as a precaution due to the risk of flooding or landslides. No fatalities were reported.

About 30% of homes were without power, and nearly 10% of the island’s 885,000 inhabitants lacked access to drinking water, the authorities said.

The prefecture also reported that strong winds ripped off roofs, doors, and windows of many buildings. Tarpaulins were being sent to the hardest-hit areas to provide shelter in the eastern part of the island, it said.

Authorities lifted the purple cyclone warning, the highest level, on Friday morning, allowing rescue services to begin operations. However, the island remained under a red warning, with residents requested to stay indoors as heavy rain and strong winds were expected to persist throughout the day.

National weather agency Meteo France said winds reaching 214 kilometers per hour were recorded at the island’s main airport.

Reunion island is located about 1,500 kilometers to the southeast of the French territory of Mayotte, an island group off Africa, which was hit in December by the worst cyclone in nearly a century, leaving widespread devastation in its wake.

Local authorities have confirmed 40 deaths from Cyclone Chido’s landfall and 41 others missing or believed to have been buried, but fear more may be dead.