Reunion Island hit by a cyclone: ​​the Belgians talk about their imprisonment

This purple level of the cyclone alert implies “a strict confinement of the entire population, including emergency and security services,” specifies a press release from the prefecture.

The Dadoumont family; in Reunion for 10 years and originally from Huy ©DR

Among this population, there are many Belgians within a community estimated at between 1,200 and 1,500 citizens. Among these, the Dadoumonts, a Hutois family who have lived on the island for 10 years. Since Sunday, following the warning messages, the family has closed its doors, secured the house located on the hills of the island and provided drinking water and recharged the batteries. “Half of our terrace is in the living room. We left nothing outside, I opened the gate and tied it, I overturned the trailer of my car, explains Marc. 4-5 days have passed since the announcement of the weather model the passage of the cyclone approximately between Mauritius and the island of Reunion.”

But it is clearly the eye of the storm that has focused on Reunion, requiring the complete confinement of its population. “In ten years we have experienced 3 to 4 cyclones but we have never had an announcement like this. There had already been a lot of damage during previous cyclones. Here they told us about winds at 250 km/h and I actually did it “We’re not having fun. We knew we had to prepare but there’s always an element of uncertainty.”

Emergency services were also banned from responding during the purple alert. Hospital services were also forced to reorganize their guards. “In the clinic where Vanessa works – Marc’s wife is a gynecologist, in the event of a red alert it is the doctor on duty who must guarantee continuity of service and cannot be replaced”.

Laurent Pirotte, originally from Namur, left his suitcases on the island 15 years ago. When we contacted this journalist from Réunion la 1re, he was taking stock of his garden located on the coast in Saint-Joseph. “The garden was negatively impacted, I’m inspecting the damage on the terrace. Luckily the level didn’t deviate into a ‘high intensity cyclone’. But it was also the first time the island went into purple alert.”

Some neighborhoods and islets – small villages generally isolated in the mountains – were evacuated. But not all people want to leave and refuse to go to the gym. I really wouldn’t want to be at the top and I think farmers will suffer enormously from this situation. “

Calm should return to the island only after the tail of the cyclone has passed.

Laurent Pirotte, journalist from Réunion and native of Namur ©DR
2024-01-15 11:36:00
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