page_title: 1892 Mauritius cyclone
section_title: Preparations and impact
hierarchical_section_title: 1892 Mauritius cyclone / Preparations and impact
caption_attribution_description: English: Port Louis, Rue du Gouvernement after the cyclone of 1892
context_page_description: On April 29, 1892, a powerful tropical cyclone struck the island of Mauritius in the South-West Indian Ocean. At least 1,200 people died during the storm, and another 4,000 people were injured, with 50,000 people left homeless, making the cyclone the second-deadliest tropical cyclone recorded in the South-West Indian Ocean basin, behind Cyclone Idai in 2019. It is also the third-deadliest recorded in the Southern Hemisphere, behind the aforementioned Cyclone Idai and the 1973 Flores cyclone. The storm originated north of the island, and local meteorologists expected that the storm would remain away from the island. Consequentially, residents were unprepared until the arrival of the strong winds. For a span of 65 minutes, the calm of the storm's eye occurred on the island, before the winds again increased, reaching 195 km/h, with gusts to 216 km/h. During the storm, the barometric pressure dropped to 947 mbar, breaking the 74-year-old record for the lowest recorded pressure on the island.
  The damage on Mauritius was so severe that contemporaneous newspapers questioned whether the island would recover. Damage was estimated at £2,000,000.
context_section_description: For several days, high waves affected northern Mauritius, but the cyclone to the north was expected to remain away from the island. On the morning that the cyclone arrived, the weather observatory sent a telegram, noting that "[the winds] will probably not exceed 90 km/h (56 mph)". This was the final warning before the telegraph lines snapped. Officials in the capital city Port Louis warned residents about the impending arrival of the storm by firing a cannon, followed by a gunshot. Responding to the warning, all traffic was halted, and residents secured doors and storms shutters. As most houses on the island were constructed of wood, the shutters served as the primary means of defense to the high winds. The island's ports were closed on the morning of the storm's arrival.
  During a span of about six hours, the cyclone damaged most of the buildings on Mauritius, killed at least 1,200 people, and injured 4,000 others. Six villages were largely destroyed: Beau Bassin, Rose Hill, Phoenix, Vacoas, Rose-Belle, and Mahébourg-Souillac. Residents returned to business during the passage of the storm's eye, which was marked by the rain stopping and the appearance of the sun. After the eye passed, the winds increased from the opposite direction. Many residents were unprepared for the ferocity of the storm, which contributed to the high death toll. Strong winds damaged or destroyed most houses, leaving about 50,000 people homeless, and also wrecked 30 of the islands' 50 churches. The cyclone wrecked 75% of the island's sugar production facilities, completely decimating some plantations, which cut the sugar industry in half. Centuries-old trees were knocked down or stripped of their leaves, with about 200,000 trees knocked down on the island. Rail service was halted due to storm debris on the tracks. Damage on Mauritius was estimated at £2,000,000 (1892 GBP, $9.75 million USD).
  About one third of Port Louis was destroyed during the storm, with 1,500 houses wrecked and 20,000 people left homeless. There were at least 596 fatalities in the city. Intense clouds gathered in the mountains above the city and unleashed a torrent. High waters sank a dozen barges in the harbor, and washed at least 13 ships onto land, some 6.1 m (20 ft) above sea level. During the storm, at least ten fires broke out in Port Louis, which destroyed 16 houses, and burnt several injured residents to death. The storm destroyed churches and schools, including the Royal College. High winds knocked down trees, lifted the roofs of houses, and flung deadly airborne debris. The winds also knocked out telegraph lines, limiting communications, and damaged rail lines, interrupting travel.
caption: Storm damage in Port Louis
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