Tropical cyclone Garance made landfall on Réunion, a French Indian Ocean territory, with gusts of 166 km/h. The equivalent of a Category 2 Atlantic hurricane, it has brought heavy rainfall, powerful winds, and dangerous waves to the island. Authorities initially issued a purple cyclone warning but later lowered it to red as conditions improved slightly.
The storm is expected to remain hazardous through Friday before improving on Saturday. Réunion lies 1,500 km southeast of Mayotte, another French territory in Africa that was devastated by Cyclone Chido last year. The cyclone has left destruction likened to an atomic bomb and killed at least 31 people.
French President Emmanuel Macron faced criticism for the government’s handling of the storm. As he visited the affected area, locals jeered him, but he defended France’s role in their lives, saying they would be worse off without it.
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/28/africa/cyclone-garance-french-island-reunion-alert-intl-hnk/index.html