Cyclone Garance kills three as it sweeps through Reunion island

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Cyclone Garance kills three as it sweeps through Reunion island

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Three people have died in Reunion after Cyclone Garance swept through the French Indian Ocean territory with gusts of up to 234km/h (145mph).

The tropical cyclone left more than 180,000 homes without power and 170,000 without running water after making landfall on Friday morning.

The remote island’s entire population – including emergency services and police – were ordered to stay indoors as the maximum alert level was imposed.

Heavy storm rains were expected to continue on Friday evening, with Prime Minister Francois Bayrou

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that the cyclone remained a threat.

The “brutal and violent” conditions were worse than Cyclone Belal,

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, Prefect Patrice Latron said.

Garance made landfall in the north of Reunion at 10:00 local time (06:00 GMT), before sweeping south and exiting the island by late afternoon, according to weather agency Meteo France.

Local authorities reduced the alert level by midday to allow emergency services and police to leave their shelters.

The top wind speed of 234km/h had not been recorded on the island since Cyclone Hollanda in February 1994.

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Cyclone Garance made landfall in the remote Indian Ocean island on Friday morning

Vincent Clain, 45, a resident of the island’s northern coast, told news agency AFP: “This is the first time I’ve seen a cyclone this powerful, and also the first time I’ve been afraid.”

Some 100 troops and firefighters were on standby to be dispatched from the French territory of Mayotte nearly 1,500km (930 miles) away when conditions eased, as well as 100 from mainland France.

Meanwhile, a 55-year-old man went missing in nearby Mauritius on Wednesday after going swimming in rough seas.

France’s Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said Friday that Garance was of a “rare intensity”, while Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said armed forces stood ready to provide assistance.

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