Saint-Philippe
Commune statusCommune
ArrondissementSaint-Pierre
CantonSaint-Benoît-2
Insee97417
Postal code97442
MayorOlivier Rivière[1]
Term2020–2026
IntercommunalityCA du Sud
Coordinates21.3594°S 55.7678°E
Elevation m40
Elevation min m0
Elevation max m2630
Area km 2153.94

Saint-Philippe (sɛ̃ filip) is a commune in the French overseas department of Réunion. It is located in the southeast of the island.

Geography

Saint-Philippe is on the highest point on the island. It borders the municipalities of Saint-Joseph and Sainte-Rose, to the west and north respectively. Although it is a coastal area, the administrative center is in Les Hauts (the highland area of the island).

Climate

Saint-Philippe has a tropical rainforest climate (Köppen climate classification Af). The average annual temperature in Saint-Philippe is 23.1 °C (73.6 °F). The average annual rainfall is 4,260.3 mm (167.73 in) with March as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in January, at around 26.2 °C (79.2 °F), and lowest in July, at around 20.0 °C (68.0 °F). The highest temperature ever recorded in Saint-Philippe was 34.7 °C (94.5 °F) on 10 December 2019; the coldest temperature ever recorded was 13.7 °C (56.7 °F) on 20 August 2008.

History

A notable event in the commune's history was in 1897, when the British troopship RIMS Warren Hastings ran aground in the middle of the night. Two seamen died as a result, the crash sparked by a compass malfunction resulting from the eruption of the Piton de la Fournaise. On board the ship was some electricity, for which the village of Tremblet would have to wait until 1984 to finally receive.

Population

Historical population
YearPop.±%
19673,336
19743,453+3.5%
19823,476+0.7%
19904,005+15.2%
19994,860+21.3%
20075,129+5.5%
20125,072−1.1%
20175,260+3.7%
20235,082−3.4%

INSEE[2]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 2 December 2020.
  2. ^ Population municipale entre 1968 et 2023, INSEE