“Nothing is left to chance”Overseas Minister Manuel Valls assured AFP on Saturday as a tropical storm threatens the archipelago, already severely affected less than a month ago by Cyclone Chido.
This new cyclonic episode called Dikeledi should affect the island “Sunday morning”. “According to the diagrams and calculations that are established, the south and south-east of the island could be particularly exposed”specified Mr. Valls.
“However,” he added, “like the north” -already strongly impacted by Chido- “is more mountainous and there are risks of sinking and submersion, we are also very attentive” to this part of the island.
“Nothing is left to chance regarding the arrival of this cyclone”insisted the minister who spoke of “heavy and continuous rain” and winds of up to 110 km/h.
Seven hundred Civil Security personnel are notably mobilized in this French territory in the Indian Ocean, he underlined.
In total, “more than 4,000 personnel are mobilized, including 1,500 to reinforce civil security, the police, the gendarmerie and the army”specified for its part the Ministry of the Interior. “There are nearly 1,000 police officers and 1,200 gendarmes”we detailed from the same source.
Messages in French but also in Shimaoré and Kibushi, two regional languages of Mayotte, were broadcast on radio and television to alert the population. “The religious relay was used with Friday prayers”as well as social networks, notably Facebook, also indicated Mr. Valls who welcomed « la coordination » and of « l’anticipation » state services, local elected officials and emergency services.
The minister also assured that he was “very attentive” to the state of networks and telecommunications. “There is a special device for sheltering the antennas so that we can quickly reuse them after the cyclone passes”he said.
Concerning emergency accommodation, “we have 71 centers identified and ready”a figure that is expected to increase “during the day”according to him.
“And there is what we call the ‘go towards’ strategy, going towards priority sites in precarious neighborhoods to see where there could be populations who have not been fully informed”he stressed.
On the transport side, in addition to the stoppage of ferries already announced by the prefecture, “the airport will be closed at 6:00 p.m.” (local time, 4:00 p.m. Paris time), said the minister.
As for the start of the school year, “we have postponed the administrative start of the year by one day at this stage”either “Tuesday for teachers and the 20th for students”he continued.
