The town of Cilaos was especially affected after the only road linking it to the island's ports was blocked repeatedly by landslides, severely disrupting economic activity.

[12] Rapid development began by 15 January while Berguitta became nearly stationary, with the MFR and the JTWC both noting the system to have reached tropical cyclone intensity early that day.

[5][7] Amid high oceanic heat content and low vertical wind shear, an eye quickly formed within the small system.

[14] Pronounced weakening commenced on 16 January, caused by dry air in Berguitta's northwest quadrant entraining into its circulation and eroding the eastern eyewall.

[15] The eye collapsed as the central dense overcast warmed and lost symmetry,[16] leading the MFR to declare Berguitta had degraded to a severe tropical storm at 18:00 UTC.

[5] On 17 January, a new ridge developing to Berguitta's east began to steer the system southwest, while causing an increase in northeasterly wind shear.

[18] Afterwards, as Berguitta tracked further south, decreasing oceanic heat content caused the cyclone's cloud pattern to lose organisation.

[19] The MFR declared the system post-tropical at 18:00 UTC on 19 January as it began accelerating southwards, pulled by an upper-level trough to its southeast.

[7][21] The remnants of Berguitta decelerated and turned east-southeast over the next few days while maintaining gale-force winds, even deepening slightly on 21 January.

[28] The adverse weather caused Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport in Plaine-Corail to close from 13 January, leading Air Mauritius to cancel flights to the island.

[51] Flooding occurred in many parts of the island, exacerbated by a high water table after rains from Cyclone Ava earlier in the month.

Blocked drains caused by improper waste disposal and concrete walls that obstructed surface runoff were also blamed for intensifying floods.

[62] Prime Minister of Mauritius, Pravind Jugnauth, visited affected areas on 18 January;[63] he narrowly escaped being crushed by a fallen tree while his car was leaving Bel Air.

[69] To address the shortage of vegetables, measures were taken to import carrots, green beans, cauliflower, and cabbages from South Africa, India, and Egypt, to be sold at cost price to make them more affordable.

[60][61] In a further attempt to reduce costs, a deal was negotiated with Saudia to fly vegetables from Egypt three times a week for free, beginning in February.

[71] After Berguitta's passage, 13,000 residents of Mauritius registered with authorities to receive payouts of ₨ 175 (about US$5) per day to cover food and accommodation expenses.

[83] The Mauritius Red Cross Society came up with an action plan to support 600 households affected by Berguitta, but the government declined their assistance in favour of drawing from the Prime Minister's Cyclone Relief Fund and utilising foreign aid.

[22] A donation drive was organised by Courts Singapore and Mistral on 22 February, where families affected by Berguitta received various household appliances.

[92] Panic buying at supermarkets began as soon as 14 January, as initial forecasts by the MFR depicted Berguitta passing close to or over Réunion.

[104] The red alert was controversially not issued due to a lack of recorded hurricane-force winds, even as rainfall over the island grew more intense and conditions became more hazardous.

[105][106] Réunion was buffeted by heavy rains and gusty winds on most of 18 January as Berguitta passed 55 km (35 mi) east-southeast of the island.

These all broke location-specific records for rainfall previously held by cyclones Connie, Hollanda, and Hyacinthe, a pattern observed in several other places in the south and southwest parts of Réunion.

[107] With soils already near or at saturation because of heavy rains from Cyclone Ava from 2 to 8 January, the addition of intense rainfall from Berguitta caused significant flooding all over Réunion, particularly in the south of the island.

[110] Bassin Plat in Saint-Pierre was completely inundated as the nearby Rivière d'Abord burst its banks, forcing several hundred of the town's inhabitants to evacuate.

[112] Amid the widespread flooding, the gendarmerie, police, firefighters, and French Army soldiers conducted a total of 190 interventions during the storm and rescued 86 people.

[117] Along Réunion's western coast, large waves from Berguitta contributed to severe coastal erosion,[118] and washed up thousands of sea urchins along the beaches of Petit Boucan in Saint-Gilles.

[128] The orange alert was lifted by 19 January as Berguitta moved away from Réunion and weakened,[129] allowing damage assessments to begin and repairs to be made.

[132] A state of natural disaster was recognised in the communes of Cilaos, Entre-Deux, L'Étang-Salé, Le Tampon, Les Avirons, Petite-Île, Saint-Joseph, Saint-Leu, Saint-Louis, and Saint-Pierre on 30 January, and in Saint-Philippe on 21 February.

Newly planted crops were destroyed by Dumazile's winds and rains and some soils became unusable for agriculture after being further waterlogged, leading to shortages of fruits and vegetables once again.

[143] The similar situations experienced during Berguitta and Fakir, where rainfall instead of wind was the main threat, led to a redesign of cyclone warnings on Réunion.