And so came the cyclone...

...that did not come...

At 8h00 this morning, we were informed of the strength of the tropical storm Gula and of its proximity. We were told by the Meteorological Services that there was a likelihood of moving to a Warning Class 4, the highest, during the day. We took out the bread bought on the eve, started stirring the batter for cakes, and getting ready for a morning of house-bound waiting. The usual expectant feverishness swathed the island (except for those who were deep asleep and had no clue).

At 8h45 this morning, we were informed that all cyclone warnings had been removed, that the cyclone was moving away from the island and that the probability of cyclonic winds (120 km/h) was almost nil.

Satellite pictures and accounts on various websites showed no change in trajectory and apparently a small change in intensity. The mystery remains on how fast revelations reached our Meteo Services between 8h00 & 8h45. What is not mysterious though are the Mauritians' feelings when they all had to spring to their feet, iron their outfits, run to the shower, gulp their breakfast down, and go and get stuck in traffic on the highway trying to reach office for half-day's work. Or when they were told that winds of up to 100 km/h could still prevail. Or when they had to find someone to keep their kids because under sudden removal of warnings, work resumes but school does not.

The centre of Gula passed at about 150 km west of Mauritius, with generally rainy but calm weather so far. I'm guessing next time a Meteo guy comes to the radio, there's going to be some ragging.