Less than a month after the devastating passage of Cyclone Chido over Mayotte, the archipelago was once again placed on orange cyclone alert on Saturday, in anticipation of Cyclone Dikeledi passing south of this French territory in the Indian Ocean.
The orange alert level immediately means "the suspension of barge traffic," the local ferries, as announced by the Mayotte Prefecture on X, warning of "a significant deterioration in weather conditions" starting Saturday evening. This alert is now accompanied by a warning for heavy rainfall, according to the latest Météo-France bulletin.
"Serious preparations must be made for the possibility of the cyclone passing very close and the triggering of the red alert," warned the Prefecture of France's 101st department, which is home to 320,000 residents.
Prefect François-Xavier Bieuville stated that, according to forecasts, the cyclone is expected to pass within 110 kilometers of the southern coasts of the archipelago. "Some models even suggest 75 kilometers. So, we are looking at a system that will come very close to Mayotte," he emphasized during a press conference in Mamoudzou on Saturday morning. "We will probably be on red alert this evening," he cautioned.
In its latest bulletin, Météo-France predicts "significant rainfall and strong winds" as Dikeledi passes near the archipelago, citing "very heavy rains that could lead to flooding."
However, forecasters anticipate that the cyclone will weaken overnight from Saturday to Sunday, "downgrading to the level of a strong tropical storm before moving off the southern coast of Mayotte during the day on Sunday."
As of 09:46 local time (06:46 GMT) on Saturday, Dikeledi was less than 700 kilometers east of Mayotte and approximately 200 kilometers off the coast of Madagascar, according to Météo-France. It is currently moving at a speed of 22 kilometers per hour.
The implementation of this orange alert comes less than a month after the passage of Cyclone Chido, the most devastating storm to hit the small Indian Ocean archipelago in 90 years.
With AFP
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