Three people died in a reunion after Cyclone Garanci passed through the French territory of the Indian Ocean with raids up to 234 km/h (145mph).
The tropical cyclone left more than 180,000 homes without electricity and 170,000 without running water after making landings on Friday morning.
The entire population of the remote island – including emergency services and police – was ordered to stay indoors because the maximum warning level was imposed.
It was expected that rain with strong storms would continue on Friday night, with Prime Minister Francois Bayrou Warning on x that the cyclone remained a threat.
“Brutal and violent” conditions were worse than Belala cyclone, in which in January 2024 they killed four people on the islandSaid Patrice Latron Prefect.
Garance made the mainland in the north of the reunion at 10:00 Local Time (06:00 GMT), before moving to the south and leaving the island until late afternoon, according to Meteo France’s Meteo Agency.
Local authorities have reduced warning levels by noon to allow emergency services and police to leave the shelters.
The highest wind speed of 234 km/h was not recorded on the island from Cyclone Hollande in February 1994.
Vincent Clain, 45, a resident of the northern coast of the island, told the AFP news agency: “This is the first time I have seen the cyclone this powerful and also the first time I was afraid.”
About 100 soldiers and firefighters were on standby to ship from French territory Mayotte, almost 1,500 KM (930 miles), when the conditions were alleviated, as well as 100 from the land of France.
In the meantime, a 55-year-old man disappeared on Wednesday at a nearby Mauritius after swimming in rough seas.
French interior minister Bruno Retailleau said on Friday that the guarantee was “rare intensity”, while Defense Minister Sebastien Lecorn said that the armed forces stood ready to provide assistance.
