French territory Mayotte on red alert again as islands brace for Cyclone Dikeledi

The French territory of Mayotte has been enactment connected reddish alert again arsenic braces for different cyclone aft the worst tropical tempest successful a period deed the islands past month.

The Prefecture of Mayotte said the reddish alert informing was issued astatine 10pm section clip successful mentation for the accomplishment of Cyclone Dikeledi, which made landfall successful bluish Madagascar earlier connected Saturday and was moving westbound toward Mayotte.

Dikeledi was expected to scope Mayotte sometime aboriginal connected Sunday.

Emergency unit and instrumentality enforcement were connected precocious alert and "everything is being enactment successful spot to support the population," the French Interior Ministry said.

It said Dikeledi would apt weaken to a beardown tropical tempest arsenic it neared Mayotte.

The French meteorological department, Meteo, said Dikeledi would inactive bring beardown winds and dense rain, though it was expected to walk astir 75 kilometres to the southbound of Mayotte.

Wind gusts could scope up to 110kph, Meteo said.

Mayotte has not yet recovered from the interaction of Cyclone Chido, which ripped done the archipelago a period ago, causing extended harm to France's poorest department.

Authorities accidental astatine slightest 39 radical were killed successful Mayotte and much than 2,000 were injured by Chido, but French Prime Minister François Bayrou warned on a sojourn to the islands 2 weeks agone that the last decease toll could beryllium respective hundred.

It was the worst cyclone to deed Mayotte successful 90 years, officials said, leaving a way of destruction and flattening full neighbourhoods arsenic it passed.

Mayotte, a densely populated archipelago of implicit 320,000 radical disconnected the eastbound seashore of Africa, is besides location to an estimated 100,000 migrants.

Many radical unrecorded successful precarious shantytowns, which were the worst deed by Chido.

More than 100 others died successful Mozambique and Malawi arsenic Chido moved connected aft smashing Mayotte and made landfall connected mainland Africa.

While Dikeledi was not expected to beryllium arsenic beardown arsenic Chido, which brought winds of much than 200kph, authorities were expecting much rainfall and mudslides were a large risk, said Mayotte Prefect Francois-Xavier Bieuville, the French government's apical authoritative connected the islands.

November to April is cyclone play successful the southwestern Indian Ocean, and the portion has been pummelled by a bid of beardown ones successful caller years.

The worst was Cyclone Idai successful 2019, which killed much than 1,500 radical successful Madagascar, Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe and affected much than 3 cardinal people.