After bruising Mauritius with powerful winds – but with moderate damages – tropical Cyclone Freddy was poised to strike eastern Madagascar on Tuesday.
Freddy on Monday passed some 120 kms northeast of Mauritius and 190 kms from the French island of La Reunion.
Although expected to have slightly weakened, it will still bring “devastating winds” and ‘very dangerous conditions (to Madagascar),” Meteo-France said.
Mauritius reopened its international airport on Tuesday after tropical cyclone Freddy forced a 24-hour closure.
Airports of Mauritius, which controls the airport, urged intending passengers to contact their respective airlines for further information on the status of their flights and not to proceed to the airport unless receiving confirmation of the revised departure time.
A number of Air Mauritius flights, including to London Heathrow, have been rescheduled to Tuesday or Wednesday while others have been cancelled.
At 4am on Tuesday, Mauritius Met Office issued a ‘Safety Bulletin’ – a new warning that follows the lifting the cyclone warning class III.
During that phase, the public was to be kept informed of the existence of any severe weather conditions associated with the cyclone and other environment risk, depending on the nature and extent of the damage occurred during the passage of the cyclone.
All schools (pre-primary, primary, secondary, tertiary, MITD centres) remained closed on Tuesday 21 February 2023.
Reports from the National Crisis Committee eventually confirmed that outdoor risks had considerably decreased and it lifted the ‘Safety Bulletin’.
This reportedly caused a chaos at traffic centres and on the island’s main roads – all Mauritians hurried to report to their places of work.
Meanwhile, the Met Office issued a ‘Heavy Rain Watch’ – warning that active cloud bands are expected to cross the island during the day.
Sources: Mauritius Met Office, Metro France
