The National Emergency Operations Command has urged people to ‘exercise extreme caution by avoiding coastal or exposed areas, and to be aware of the risk of debris, fallen trees or electricity wires.’
Meanwhile, the Mauritius Meteorological Services has removed its cyclone warning Class IV around 4pm this Sunday, to replace it with a ‘strong wind and high seas’ warning.
According to the Met Office, Emnati has intensified into an Intense Tropical Cyclone and continues to move away slowly from Mauritius.
At 4pm, intense tropical cyclone Emnati was centred at about 360 km to the north-west of Mauritius in latitude 17.5 degrees South and longitude 55.5 degrees East. It is moving towards the west-southwest at a reduced speed of about 10 km/h.
Clouds bands associated with Emnati will continue to influence weather over the island with moderate showers which may become locally heavy at times.
Several stations over the island are still recording gusts of 80-90 km/h. However, the risks of gusts exceeding 120 km/h no longer exist. The gusts will start to decrease during the day tomorrow.
The highest gusts recorded during the passage of Emnati are as follows:
Champ de Mars : 133 km/h
Nouvelle Decouverte : 122 km/h
Le Morne: 119 km/h
Beau Songes: 97 km/h
Vacoas: 93 km/h
Domaines les Pailles: 90 km/h
Plaisance: 85 km/h
Bel Village : 89 km/h
Riche Terre : 85 km/h
Since wind gusts of the order of 80-90 km/h and high seas are persisting, a ‘strong wind and high seas’ warning has been issued. The warning will remain valid for 18 hours, until 10am Monday morning.
“The population is strongly advised to be very cautious outdoor and avoid going out at sea,” it warned.
Meanwhile, several trees have reportedly fallen across the island, electrical cables have been damaged and bridges are obstructed by debris.
The National Emergency Operations Command said some roads remain impassable across the country. It cited the main road from L’Amaury, the motorway from Bois-Marchand towards Terre-Rouge, the Nicolière road leading to Salazie.
The NEOC said the Special Mobile Force and firefighters will intervene as soon as possible.
