Authorities in the French overseas territory of Reunion on Friday morning issued a “purple alert”, the highest level of threat warning, as a cyclone with gusts exceeding 200 kph (124 mph) approached the Indian Ocean island.

French President Emmanuel Macron urged residents to be vigilant and respect safety instructions on Thursday as cyclone Garance headed for the island, which lies off the coast of Madagascar.

The heart of the storm was expected to make landfall over a large portion of the north of the island on Friday morning, with the strongest winds hitting between the capital Saint-Denis and the town of Saint-Leu, the local administration said in a statement.

“In view of the danger of the approaching cyclone, the prefect of Reunion has issued a purple alert,” the administration said.

French President Emmanuel Macron urged residents on the French overseas territory of Reunion to hunker down as the cyclone barrelled toward the Indian Ocean island.

“In the face of cyclone Garance, I call on our fellow citizens in Reunion to be extremely vigilant and to respect safety instructions,” Macron wrote in a post on social media platform X. “The state is at your side and our forces are mobilised.”

Authorities placed Reunion, an island in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Madagascar and thousands of kilometres (miles) away from mainland France, on red alert on Thursday, as the storm was still north of the island.

Residents were urged to stay home, seek refuge in certain parts of their houses in case of destruction and to be prepared in case of water and electricity outages.

Wind speeds for the cyclone were estimated to reach as high as 155 kph (96 mph).

Reunion was recently used as a base for authorities trying to shuttle aid to neighbouring Mayotte, which was devastated by Cyclone Chido in December.

Authorities said that Chido, the worst storm to hit Mayotte’s two main islands in 90 years, may have killed thousands of people in Mayotte, but the government’s official death toll stands at 35.