Cyclone Garance puts Mauritius, La Reunion on high alert
The Indian Ocean islands of Mauritius and La Reunion were on high alert Thursday for an intense tropical storm, Cyclone Garance, labelled a "direct threat" to the tourist destinations.
Mauritius shut its main airport on Wednesday, while the nearby French island of La Reunion was set to do the same on Thursday.
Garance was categorised a class 3 cyclone by Mauritius -- the second-highest alert level -- with gusts of up to 70 kilometres (43 miles) an hour expected.
The Mauritius Meteorological Service said the cyclone was 310 kilometres (190 miles) northwest of the island and had become an "intense tropical storm".
The cyclone is "dangerously approaching Mauritius and constitutes a direct threat," it said, adding that flooding was expected.
Garance was heading east but has curved south to pass between Mauritius and La Reunion, whose government representative said a "red alert" would be declared and the airport closed on Thursday.
Read more'We lost everything that day': After Cyclone Freddy, Malawi struggles to rebuild
(AFP)
Read more on FRANCE 24 EnglishRead also:Tropical storm lashes France's Mayotte just weeks after devastating cycloneSuper Typhoon Man-yi smashes power lines, wrecks houses in Philippines
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