The Albany Gazette - 'Fragile' Mayotte still on high alert as storm moves away

The storm came as France's poorest territory, where many people live in shanty towns, was reeling from a deadly cyclone that devastated Mayotte in mid-December.

On Saturday evening, Dikeledi hit the northern coast of the Indian Ocean island of Madagascar as a cyclone before weakening into a severe tropical storm.

Having swept through Mayotte, the storm was headed towards Mozambique, where Cyclone Chido killed at least 120 people in December.

"It is now moving away from the island," said Meteo-France.

On Saturday night, Mayotte was placed on red alert and officials said it would remain in place until Monday evening.

"At the moment, Dikeledi is still a threat to our territory", said Floriane Ben Hassen, director of Meteo France in Mayotte.

At its closest, Dikeledi passed around 100 kilometres south of the French territory early on Sunday morning but was now 180 kilometres (111 miles) away.

- Mayotte 'very fragile' -

Dikeledi came less than a month after the most devastating cyclone to hit Mayotte in 90 years caused colossal damage in mid-December, killing at least 39 people and injuring more than 5,600.

"We still have extremely strong winds and rainfall that is just as strong," Prefect Francois-Xavier Bieuville, the top Paris-appointed official on the territory, said on television.

He said a second spell of bad weather would bring heavy rain to the archipelago on Monday.

Bieuville said the "territory is very fragile" but added that no casualties had been reported.

A woman trapped inside her car during a flood was rescued, he added.

Earlier in the day the floods were reported in the south of the archipelago, devastating the village of Mbouini, one of the few localities to have been spared by Cyclone Chido.

Torrential rain was reported in Pamandzi, in the south of the island of Petite-Terre.

"The worst of the rain is easing up, but we still have wind," local resident Gilles Mounier told AFP.

"We've had a lot of water and my neighbour upstairs no longer has a roof, the tarpaulin has gone with the wind, so his flat is flooded and it's leaking at my place", said the 55-year-old.

- Three killed in Madagascar -

Three people died in the torrential rains that battered northern Madagascar, the National Office for Risk and Disaster Management (BNGRC) said on Sunday. More than 900 people were also affected.

"In terms of impact, Antsiranana province in Madagascar has sustained the most intense conditions in recent hours," Meteo-France said, referring to the island's northern tip.

Mayotte's population stands officially at 320,000, but there are an estimated 100,000 to 200,000 more undocumented residents living in shanty towns that were destroyed by the cyclone in December.

Confined to their homes from Saturday night, inhabitants of Mayotte have been banned from moving around until further notice.

During the alert, all travel is banned except for rescue services and other authorised personnel.

But in Mamoudzou, located on Grande-Terre, the main island of Mayotte, some residents were venturing out on to the streets, a few taking advantage of the rain to wash their vehicles.

More than 4,000 people have been mobilised in Mayotte, including members of the police and the military.

Eighty accommodation centres have been set up to host some 14,500 people, the overseas territories ministry told AFP, saying that the situation was "calm".

In Mozambique, Dikeledi could approach the coast of Nampula province on Monday.

(N.Miller--TAG)