The Fort Worth Press - Cyclone Batsurai injures 12 on France's La Reunion island

USD -
AED 3.673042
AFN 68.112673
ALL 94.198378
AMD 389.366092
ANG 1.801814
AOA 913.000367
ARS 1003.850089
AUD 1.538462
AWG 1.8025
AZN 1.70397
BAM 1.877057
BBD 2.018523
BDT 119.468305
BGN 1.877115
BHD 0.376794
BIF 2953.116752
BMD 1
BND 1.347473
BOB 6.908201
BRL 5.801041
BSD 0.99976
BTN 84.384759
BWP 13.658045
BYN 3.27175
BYR 19600
BZD 2.015164
CAD 1.39805
CDF 2871.000362
CHF 0.893615
CLF 0.035758
CLP 977.925332
CNY 7.243041
CNH 7.25914
COP 4389.749988
CRC 509.237487
CUC 1
CUP 26.5
CVE 105.825615
CZK 24.326204
DJF 178.031575
DKK 7.158304
DOP 60.252411
DZD 134.27504
EGP 49.650175
ERN 15
ETB 122.388982
EUR 0.95985
FJD 2.27595
FKP 0.789317
GBP 0.798085
GEL 2.740391
GGP 0.789317
GHS 15.795384
GIP 0.789317
GMD 71.000355
GNF 8617.496041
GTQ 7.717261
GYD 209.15591
HKD 7.78445
HNL 25.264168
HRK 7.133259
HTG 131.234704
HUF 395.000354
IDR 15943.55
ILS 3.70204
IMP 0.789317
INR 84.43625
IQD 1309.659773
IRR 42075.000352
ISK 139.680386
JEP 0.789317
JMD 159.268679
JOD 0.709104
JPY 154.770385
KES 129.468784
KGS 86.503799
KHR 4025.145161
KMF 472.503794
KPW 899.999621
KRW 1404.510383
KWD 0.30785
KYD 0.833149
KZT 499.179423
LAK 21959.786938
LBP 89526.368828
LKR 290.973655
LRD 180.450118
LSL 18.040693
LTL 2.95274
LVL 0.60489
LYD 4.882192
MAD 10.057392
MDL 18.23504
MGA 4666.25078
MKD 59.052738
MMK 3247.960992
MNT 3397.999946
MOP 8.015644
MRU 39.77926
MUR 46.850378
MVR 15.460378
MWK 1733.576467
MXN 20.428504
MYR 4.468039
MZN 63.910377
NAD 18.040693
NGN 1696.703725
NIO 36.786794
NOK 11.072604
NPR 135.016076
NZD 1.714237
OMR 0.385039
PAB 0.99976
PEN 3.790969
PGK 4.025145
PHP 58.939038
PKR 277.626662
PLN 4.16352
PYG 7804.59715
QAR 3.646048
RON 4.778204
RSD 112.339038
RUB 104.308748
RWF 1364.748788
SAR 3.754429
SBD 8.383555
SCR 13.693555
SDG 601.503676
SEK 11.036204
SGD 1.346604
SHP 0.789317
SLE 22.730371
SLL 20969.504736
SOS 571.332598
SRD 35.494038
STD 20697.981008
SVC 8.748021
SYP 2512.529858
SZL 18.034455
THB 34.480369
TJS 10.647152
TMT 3.5
TND 3.17616
TOP 2.342104
TRY 34.552504
TTD 6.790153
TWD 32.583504
TZS 2659.340659
UAH 41.35995
UGX 3694.035222
UYU 42.516436
UZS 12825.951341
VES 46.55914
VND 25419
VUV 118.722009
WST 2.791591
XAF 629.547483
XAG 0.031938
XAU 0.000369
XCD 2.70255
XDR 0.760497
XOF 629.547483
XPF 114.458467
YER 249.925037
ZAR 18.15566
ZMK 9001.203587
ZMW 27.617448
ZWL 321.999592
  • RBGPF

    59.2400

    59.24

    +100%

  • BCC

    3.4200

    143.78

    +2.38%

  • BCE

    0.0900

    26.77

    +0.34%

  • AZN

    1.3700

    65.63

    +2.09%

  • GSK

    0.2600

    33.96

    +0.77%

  • CMSC

    0.0320

    24.672

    +0.13%

  • RELX

    0.9900

    46.75

    +2.12%

  • SCS

    0.2300

    13.27

    +1.73%

  • RIO

    -0.2200

    62.35

    -0.35%

  • NGG

    1.0296

    63.11

    +1.63%

  • CMSD

    0.0150

    24.46

    +0.06%

  • JRI

    -0.0200

    13.21

    -0.15%

  • VOD

    0.1323

    8.73

    +1.52%

  • RYCEF

    -0.0100

    6.79

    -0.15%

  • BTI

    0.4000

    37.38

    +1.07%

  • BP

    0.2000

    29.72

    +0.67%

Cyclone Batsurai injures 12 on France's La Reunion island
Cyclone Batsurai injures 12 on France's La Reunion island

Cyclone Batsurai injures 12 on France's La Reunion island

At least twelve people were injured on the French Indian Ocean territory of La Reunion Thursday as tropical cyclone Batsirai skirted the island, hitting it with torrential rains and powerful winds and leaving all residents confined to their homes.

Text size:

The island was placed on red alert on Wednesday, forcing its 860,000 inhabitants to barricade themselves indoors, with the eye of the intense cyclone expected to pass nearly 200 kilometres (124 miles) from the coast early Thursday.

"The worst is not over," said La Reunion's Prefect Jacques Billant, warning the island will be hit with heavy rainfall as the storm bears down.

Of the injured, 10 "had carbon monoxide poisoning", a firefighter was "electrified" attending a roof fire and another was injured after "a fall from a roof", he told a press conference.

The Meteo-France weather agency confirmed to AFP Thursday the cyclone remained on course to pass around 180 kilometres off La Reunion's coast, but was to hit later than expected "during the morning" Thursday as it had slowed overnight.

The warning came after Batsirai left thousands of homes without power in Mauritius to the east Wednesday, but passed over the island without inflicting major damage despite cyclone winds bringing life to a standstill.

The cyclone passed within 130 kilometres (80 miles) of the popular holiday destination, bringing heavy downpours and winds of 120 kilometres per hour before it moved on with La Reunion in its sights.

At 6:30 am (0230 GMT), the storm remained an "intense tropical cyclone" as it approached La Reunion, located around 200 kilometres from the island and moving at nine kilometres per hour, the prefecture of La Reunion said.

The red alert -- the third degree of four in the scale of hurricane alerts -- for the island "remains in full force", it said.

It left the island's airport closed, shops shuttered and major roads shut for residents as they hunkered down and waited for the cyclone to pass.

- Heavy rain 'to come' -

Batsirai remains "very concentrated" but will release significant amounts of rain with the weather set to deteriorate even though the night had passed "relatively well", Meteo-France said.

"The bulk of the precipitation is still to come because it is at the rear" of Batsirai's formation, it said.

Strong winds of up to 150 kmh have been reported on the island, according to the agency, compared to intense gusts of 260 kmh at sea.

Heavy rain has hit the island since midday Wednesday, with the majority falling to the south, including a metre within 24 hours in the uninhabited region of Piton de la Fournaise, Meteo-France said.

 

After passing La Reunion, Batsirai is set to touch the east coast of Madagascar in southern Africa by the end of the week, Meteo-France forecast, potentially at the level of an "intense tropical cyclone" which could cause a "major" impact for the region.

Other tropical storms and torrential rains have wreaked havoc in southern Africa in recent days, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake.

Tropical Storm Ana claimed the lives of 86 people in Mozambique, Madagascar and Malawi last week.

S.Jordan--TFWP