Shock and anger in Mauritius, hit by Cyclone Belal

“Another sad and shocking day for Mauritians», Mauritius media headlines this morning Express. Cyclone Belal, which was supposed to hit Reunion Island hard on Monday morning, eventually only hit the French island to the northwest, causing limited damage due to measures taken upstream by the prefecture. On the other hand, she did not spare her neighbor Maurice, who faced a torrential downpour that she did not anticipate. The amount of rain caught officials and residents by surprise, creating scenes of chaos.

“We were shocked», testifies Julie*, 28, who lives in the north of the island in Perebere. Like all residents, the young executive went to work on Monday morning, relying on the Class 1 alert issued by authorities. Around 10 am, the level rose to Class 2. Then at 1pm, until Class 3: All Mauritians were called to come back home. “And that was the beginning of hell“, she said. “Class 3 gives you 3 hours to get home. I returned through the coastal road which was completely flooded, I found projectiles on my car.»

Torrents in the streets

Around noon, the Mauritius International Airport announced its closure until further notice. Banks, government offices and other private businesses closed their doors. Within hours, roads in the capital, Port Louis, became muddy streams, washing away cars in their path. A 50-year-old man died due to the fall.

Jean*, a lawyer in Port-Louis, finds himself stuck in his office. “There was panic», says the Mauritian. “The main roads in Port-Louis were completely flooded. Everyone was stuck. A colleague tried to leave, his car flooded and he had to return to the office. The damage toll will be huge…», fears the lawyer.

Jean was able to return only at 4:30 p.m., when streams of water began to empty from the tracks. “What I criticize the authorities for is their press release around 11 am, which authorizes all government employees to leave work around 12:30 pm. Now, that was the worst moment! It has created chaos.”Gene report.

Water up to my chest

On Tuesday, the storm had moved and is about 210 kilometers southeast of Mauritius. The Mauritian Meteorological Service has significantly downgraded the alert level it raised three hours earlier, which is maximum. After ordering residents to stay at home on Monday, officials eased the rules on Tuesday, saying only that it “People are strongly advised to take precautions and stay in safe places“

“We no longer really understand what is happening. We are deconfined at noon, but I think people will stay home to take stock of the damage and clean their homes. Says Virginie, 31 years old. In his town of Tamarin, in the west of the island, at the junction between the river and the sea, the floods were sudden and very strong. “We were hit by a flash flood at the same time. Our garden wall turned into a waterfall», says the French tourist, which was once water in the streetup to the chest“

The Mauritian Meteorological Services reported winds of 124 km/h in Quatre-Bournes, 122 in Nouvelle-Decouverte and 121 in Anguillas. According to local media, around a hundred vehicles were damaged, angering their owners. “People are surprised that Class 3 didn’t trigger earlier and we were told to come to work because so many people lost their cars.», declares Julie.

anger

After Monday’s surprise, reactions have started coming in condemning the government’s lack of preparation. “Once the storm dissipates, it will be time to demand accountability and set responsibilities.», reacted in the press release of the leader of the opposition, Xavier-Luc Duval. According to Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnath, the authorities made decisions based on information from weather stations that did not anticipate the strength of the cyclone. The prime minister sacked Ram Dhurmia, the director of the island’s weather station, for his mishandling of the incident. “Head roll, but not the real decision makers and those responsible for yesterday’s chaos…», Julie squeaks.

Already in 2013, torrential rains caused a national disaster with 11 deaths on the island. An investigative report pointed to lack of warning from weather services, lack of maintenance of evacuation channels, delays in aid and weak organization of civil defense to help victims.

*First names have been changed.