Cyclone Niran scared the whole New Caledonia. It had indeed been put in the category of very intense tropical cyclones, force 5 by US standards. It was therefore a very destructive beast. Forecasts had it passing over or near all the communes on the east coast where the vast majority of the population lives. Niran passed on Saturday. He finally did little damage. There were a few stranded boats and broken windows on the façade of the Australian Consulate building.Trees fell here and there. Some roofs were washed away. There were no casualties despite gusts of over 200 kilometres per hour.
Dry cyclone
Why did it do so little damage? Probably because it was a dry cyclone. There was indeed no wind, but very little rain. It also passed very quickly since it “ran” up to 50 kilometres per hour. Niran also didn’t pass directly over the municipalities of Caledonia, but a few kilometres away at sea.
On Sunday evening, another much more serious catastrophe hit Caledonia. It is called Covid-19 with a first indigenous case.Caledonia will be confined from Tuesday 9 March for a fortnight.
