Tropical cyclone Batsirai batters France’s Reunion Island

At least 12 people have been injured on the French Indian Ocean territory of La Reunion as tropical cyclone Batsirai lashed the island Thursday, dumping rain and blowing powerful winds overnight – conditions that continue to keep residents inside.

People on the east of the La Reunion, on 2 February 2022, ahead of the passage of tropical cyclone Batsirai. © Richard Bouhet/AFP

"The worst is not over," warned La Reunion's Prefect Jacques Billant, as Batsirai battered the island with wind and rain.

The storm, an "intense tropical cyclone", was on course to pass around 180 kilometres off La Reunion's coast on Thursday morning.

On Wednesday the island was placed on red alert – the third out of four degrees in the scale of hurricane alerts – forcing its 860,000 inhabitants to barricade themselves indoors, where they were already somewhat confined by a Covid curfew in place throughout the month of January.

Les choses sérieuses commencent au Moufia 21:52 Cyclone #Batsirai à La Réunion 🇷🇪 pic.twitter.com/YjTwy84wgr

— Jérémy Edouard (@bienglace) February 2, 2022

Strong winds of up to 150 kilometres per hour were reported, with gusts of up to 260 kilometres per hour at sea. Heavy rain has hit the island since Wednesday, with the uninhabited region of Piton de la Fourmaise, in the south, recording a metre of rain in 24 hours.

"The majority of the rain is yet to come, so be careful if you live near the coast,” warned the prefect.

Of the 12 injured people, 10 suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning, a firefighter was electrified while attending a roof fire and another was injured after falling off a roof.

Tearing through the region

Batsirai passed within 130 kilometres of Mauritius, 230 kilometres to the east of Reunion Island, leaving thousands of homes without power, though without inflicting major damage.

Cyclone winds of up to 120 kilometres per hour and heavy downpours brought life to a standstill, before the storm moved on towards Reunion island.

Batsirai is set to touch the east coast of Madagascar by the end of the week, with potentially still some power.

Other tropical storms and torrential rains have recently hit southern Africa, with some 86 people killed in Madagascar, Mozambique and Malawi by tropical Storm Ana last week.

(with AFP)