The Albany Gazette - Cyclone Batsurai injures 12 on France's La Reunion island

The island was placed on red alert on Wednesday, forcing its 860,000 inhabitants to barricade themselves indoors, with the eye of the intense cyclone expected to pass nearly 200 kilometres (124 miles) from the coast early Thursday.

"The worst is not over," said La Reunion's Prefect Jacques Billant, warning the island will be hit with heavy rainfall as the storm bears down.

Of the injured, 10 "had carbon monoxide poisoning", a firefighter was "electrified" attending a roof fire and another was injured after "a fall from a roof", he told a press conference.

The Meteo-France weather agency confirmed to AFP Thursday the cyclone remained on course to pass around 180 kilometres off La Reunion's coast, but was to hit later than expected "during the morning" Thursday as it had slowed overnight.

The warning came after Batsirai left thousands of homes without power in Mauritius to the east Wednesday, but passed over the island without inflicting major damage despite cyclone winds bringing life to a standstill.

The cyclone passed within 130 kilometres (80 miles) of the popular holiday destination, bringing heavy downpours and winds of 120 kilometres per hour before it moved on with La Reunion in its sights.

At 6:30 am (0230 GMT), the storm remained an "intense tropical cyclone" as it approached La Reunion, located around 200 kilometres from the island and moving at nine kilometres per hour, the prefecture of La Reunion said.

The red alert -- the third degree of four in the scale of hurricane alerts -- for the island "remains in full force", it said.

It left the island's airport closed, shops shuttered and major roads shut for residents as they hunkered down and waited for the cyclone to pass.

- Heavy rain 'to come' -

Batsirai remains "very concentrated" but will release significant amounts of rain with the weather set to deteriorate even though the night had passed "relatively well", Meteo-France said.

"The bulk of the precipitation is still to come because it is at the rear" of Batsirai's formation, it said.

Strong winds of up to 150 kmh have been reported on the island, according to the agency, compared to intense gusts of 260 kmh at sea.

Heavy rain has hit the island since midday Wednesday, with the majority falling to the south, including a metre within 24 hours in the uninhabited region of Piton de la Fournaise, Meteo-France said.

After passing La Reunion, Batsirai is set to touch the east coast of Madagascar in southern Africa by the end of the week, Meteo-France forecast, potentially at the level of an "intense tropical cyclone" which could cause a "major" impact for the region.

Other tropical storms and torrential rains have wreaked havoc in southern Africa in recent days, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake.

Tropical Storm Ana claimed the lives of 86 people in Mozambique, Madagascar and Malawi last week.

(T.Burkhard--BBZ)