St Brandon
St
Brandon is a group of islets located on rich fishing banks
approximately 450 kilometres to the north north east of Mauritius.
Although there is no permanent resident population on the islands, there
is a small transient population of mainly fishermen, the majority of
whom stay on Raphael Island, which is on of the easily accessible
islets. A small team of the National Coast Guard is based on Raphael
Island, and the island also provides shelter for fishermen in the event
of severe weather.
The
archipelago is often affected by tropical cyclones with high waves and
tsunami additional hazards due to the islands' being low-lying. A
weather observing station in St Brandon maintained by the Mauritius
Meteorological Services provides vital information for tracking of
tropical storms in the region.
Daily
weather forecasts as well as warnings for severe weather and tsunami
potentially affecting St Brandon are issued by Mauritius Meteorological
Services and relayed to the Outer Islands Development Corporation
(OIDC), the parent administrative institution, as well as to the
Officers In Charge of the National Coast Guard and the Meteorological
Station on the island. A Disaster Management Coordinator has been
appointed in St Brandon to coordinate and facilitate disaster management
programmes on the island.
