Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on February 27, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 25, 2026
President Macron urges vigilance as Cyclone Garance approaches Reunion Island, with residents advised to follow safety measures and prepare for outages.
PARIS (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron urged residents on the French overseas territory of Reunion to hunker down on Thursday as a cyclone barrelled toward the Indian Ocean island.
"In the face of cyclone Garance, I call on our fellow citizens in Reunion to be extremely vigilant and to respect safety instructions," Macron wrote in a post on social media platform X. "The state is at your side and our forces are mobilised."
Authorities placed Reunion, an island in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Madagascar and thousands of kilometres (miles) away from mainland France, on red alert on Thursday, as the storm was still north of the island.
Residents were urged to stay home, seek refuge in certain parts of their houses in case of destruction and to be prepared in case of water and electricity outages.
Wind speeds for the cyclone were estimated to reach as high as 155 kph (96 mph).
Reunion was recently used as a base for authorities trying to shuttle aid to neighbouring Mayotte, which was devastated by Cyclone Chido in December.
Authorities said that Chido, the worst storm to hit Mayotte's two main islands in 90 years, may have killed thousands of people in Mayotte, but the government's official death toll stands at 35.
(Reporting by Makini Brice; Editing by Sandra Maler)
Macron urged residents to be extremely vigilant and to respect safety instructions as cyclone Garance approached.
Residents were advised to stay home, seek refuge in safe parts of their houses, and prepare for potential water and electricity outages.
Wind speeds for cyclone Garance were estimated to reach as high as 155 kph (96 mph).
Cyclone Chido recently devastated Mayotte, which is near Reunion, and was reported to be the worst storm in 90 years.
Authorities placed Reunion on red alert as the cyclone approached the island.
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