PORT LOUIS, Mauritius, Feb 22, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Mauritius grounded flights 
and shut schools as a strong tropical storm approached the Indian Ocean 
island on Thursday, the meteorological services said. 

Storm Eleanor was about 200 kilometres (125 miles) northeast of the nation at 
4:00 am (0000 GMT) and was moving at a speed of 20 kilometres an hour, the 
weather service said. 

"The wind will initially blow from the south-east at a speed of around of 
around 40 km/h reaching 110 km/h by midday, strengthening to over 120 km/h," 
it said in a bulletin. 

The country's main international airport operator said the facility would 
close, with national carrier Air Mauritius cancelling flights scheduled for 
departure on Thursday morning.
 
Public transport was also halted and schools shut.

Renowned for its spectacular white sandy beaches and turquoise waters, the 
remote island nation also lies in the pathway of occasional cyclones.

In January, tropical storm Belal killed one person, left thousands without 
power, flooded buildings and caused traffic chaos.

About a dozen storms or cyclones occur each year in the southwest Indian 
Ocean during the November-April season.

In February last year, Mauritius was lashed by heavy rains and high winds 
from Cyclone Freddy, which caused a wave of death and destruction across 
southeastern Africa including in Malawi, Mozambique and Madagascar.