Editing Réunion (section)

=== 21st century ===
In 2005 and 2006, Réunion was hit by a crippling epidemic of [[chikungunya]], a disease spread by mosquitoes. According to the [[BBC News]], 255,000 people on Réunion had contracted the disease as of 26 April 2006.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2 February 2006 |title=Island disease hits 50,000 people |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4674376.stm |access-date=18 August 2007 |archive-date=28 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090328014505/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4674376.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> The neighbouring islands of Mauritius and Madagascar also suffered epidemics of this disease during the same year.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Beesoon |first1=Sanjay |last2=Funkhouser |first2=Ellen |last3=Kotea |first3=Navaratnam |last4=Spielman |first4=Andrew |last5=Robich |first5=Rebecca M. |year=2008 |title=Chikungunya Fever, Mauritius, 2006 |journal=Emerging Infectious Diseases |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=337–338 |doi=10.3201/eid1402.071024 |pmc=2630048 |pmid=18258136}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=6 March 2006 |title=Madagascar hit by mosquito virus |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4777530.stm |access-date=18 August 2007 |archive-date=13 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191213214745/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4777530.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[2024–25 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season|Cyclone Garance]] struck Réunion in March 2025, killing at least four people and leaving over 160,000 without power. The cyclone, with winds up to 230 km/h, made landfall in the north of the island before moving southwest, causing flash floods, mudslides, and structural damage. Authorities lifted a red alert after the storm weakened. Thousands were left without drinking water or internet, and flights were temporarily halted. [[François Bayrou|French Prime Minister François Bayrou]] urged caution, while residents described the cyclone as one of the most powerful they had experienced.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Four dead as Cyclone Garance wrecks France's Reunion island |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/3/1/three-dead-as-cyclone-garance-wrecks-frances-la-reunion-island |access-date=2025-03-03 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref>