La Reunion lifts red alert after cyclone Belal moves away, 3 dead

The French island of La Reunion lifted a cyclone alert at noon (0800 GMT) on Tuesday, after cyclone Belal that struck the Indian Ocean island a day earlier moved away and no longer posed a threat, local authorities said. "(The cyclone) no longer represents a danger to our territory," the authorities said, still advising a degree of caution even though weather conditions were improving.

The French island of La Reunion lifted a cyclone alert at noon (0800 GMT) on Tuesday, after cyclone Belal that struck the Indian Ocean island a day earlier moved away and no longer posed a threat, local authorities said.

"(The cyclone) no longer represents a danger to our territory," the authorities said, still advising a degree of caution even though weather conditions were improving. One homeless person, who was not in a safe shelter, died in when the cyclone hit, authorities said on Monday.

France's interior minister, Gerald Darmanin, who will head to La Reunion on Tuesday evening, told the National Asssembly earlier in the day that two more people had died in the storm. The lifting of the red alert means local businesses can restart activities but residents were advised to stay at home if possible. Nurseries would open from Wednesday but schools would remain closed until Monday, the Prefecture of La Reunion said.

La Reunion now faces the task of dealing with the significant damage caused by Belal, which brought wind gusts of up to 200 km/h and power outages across the island, but still proved less cataclysmic than feared. Almost 130 firefighters, 10 gendarmes and 15 power network specialists were scheduled to arrive to La Reunion from neighbouring Mayotte and from continental France.