Very Intense Tropical Cyclone Freddy (next only to super cyclone strength) continued moving westward over the South-West Indian Ocean past the island nations of Mauritius and La Reunion (France) on Monday towards its East Madagascar, its likely final destination, an update from the Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System (GDACS) said.
Agency reports said Mauritius has grounded flights and shut its stock exchange as dangerous Freddy steamed in. A Class III cyclone warning was in force on Monday, allowing about six hours of daylight before wind gusts of 120 km/hour could set in. Its weather service said, at its closest distance, Freddy may pass at about 120 km to the North-North-West of the island late in the afternoon.
Prime Minister’s alert
Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth of Mauritius said in an address on Friday Freddy is an ‘extremely strong cyclone which is a direct threat’ to the islands of Mauritius, Rodrigues, and Saint Brandon. He urged people to take all necessary precautions, stay home, and remain ‘vigilant.’
But the country’s weather office lowered the cyclone’s classification to ‘intense’ from ‘very intense’ and lifted its safety bulletin for the autonomous island of Rodrigues, 600 km East of Mauritius.
At 11.30 am on Monday, GDACS located the cyclone centre approximately 135 km North-North-East of Mauritius and 270 km North-East of Reunion, with maximum sustained winds of 243 km/hr that put into a Category-4 system on the Saffir-Simpson scale.
An orange alert (lower by only one level than a red alert) had been declared in Mauritius even as Freddy was spinning ferociously not too far away.
Orange alert in force
The powerful cyclone was only a gust away from being categorised into class-topping Category-5 (beyond 252 km/hr), which it may not rustle up to. On the forecast track, Freddy is expected to continue moving westwards, well off Mauritius and Reunion, and make a landfall over East Vatovavy-Fitovinany province (Central-Eastern coast of Madagascar) later Tuesday evening with maximum wind speeds of 220 km/hr (Category-4).
It may track West-South-West across Central and South Madagascar through Wednesday-Thursday even as it weakens from interaction with land, and wade into the Mozambique Channel by Thursday, before heading towards Central and Southern Mozambique. Heavy rainfall and strong storm surge have been warned on Tuesday-Wednesday over Reunion and Mauritius and moderate over the Rodrigues Islands. A cyclone warning is in force over Renuion and Mauritius.
Airport closure
Meanwhile, Mauritius announced that the international airport would be closed from Monday until further notice. “Air Mauritius is closely monitoring the situation with the authorities and will keep passengers informed of developments,” the national carrier added on its website. Authorities on the Reunion island too were on alert. About a dozen storms or cyclones occur each year in the South-West Indian Ocean during the October-April season.