| 2002-03 Southern Hemisphere Tropical Cyclone Season |
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The 2002-03 Southern Hemisphere tropical cyclone season ran from July 1 , 2002 through June 30 , 2003 . These dates generally delimit the period of time when Tropical Cyclone s form in the Southern Hemisphere . SOUTHEAST INDIAN OCEAN Tropical Storm Graham Graham formed on February 27 , 2003 near Broome , Australia . The storm then made landfall the next day before dissapating inland on March 1 . The storm killed one person. Cyclone Inigo ]] A disturbance that had crossed the islands of Indonesia organized and was named Inigo on April 2 . In a favourable environment, Inigo rapidly intensified and became a Category-5 equivalent with a central pressure of 900 Mb . It moved slowly southwest and started recurving. Shear increased and dry air became entraped into the cyclone. It weaked quickly, and by the time of its landfall is was of only depression strength. Inigo dissipated on April 8 . Curiously, no one was killed by Inigo when it was a named cyclone. However, the precursor disturbance caused heavy rains over parts of Indonesia. There were at least 50 deaths, with 100 people missing. In the Sikka District of Besar Island , the total damage was 3.3 million dollars (USD). Over 1300 homes were destroyed, and 4800 were damaged. In East Flores , there was major damage to infrastructure. In many locations, crops and Cattle were swept away. SOUTH PACIFIC Cyclone Zoe A depression formed at the end of December. It quickly strengthened into one of the most intense tropical cyclones ever recorded with 10-minute average sustained winds of 130 knots. It eventually went extratropical. Zoe caused catastropic damage on several small islands in the south Pacific. Fortunately, no one was directly killed. Crops were heavily disrupted and took several years to recover. The name Zoe was later retired. Cyclone Beni Cyclone Beni formed over the Solomon Islands in late January 2003, damaging houses in the archipelago before moving in a south-easterly direction along a course between Vanuatu and New Caledonia . After passing New Caledonia, the cyclone was downgraded into a low-pressure system and moved westwards towards the Australian mainland. Beni reformed off Mackay , Queensland on February 5 , crossing the coast as a weak Category 1 system south of that city the following day. The cyclone dumped heavy rain in Central Queensland , resulting in flash flooding which claimed the life of one person and resulted in a A$ 10 million disaster bill. Cyclone Eseta A Tropical Depression formed on March 7 , 2003 near Vanuatu . On March 9 the storm was named Eseta the seventh named storm of the 2002/03 S. Pacific cyclone season. Moving south-southeast and then nearly due east, Eseta bypassed the Fiji islands and strengthened into a Category 3 cyclone before becoming Extratropical near Rarotonga . The storm caused Flash Flood ing and moderate damage do banana crops in Tonga . There were no deaths. SOUTH INDIAN OCEAN Four Simultaneous Tropical Cyclones From February 12 to 13 , Tropical Storm Fiona, Cyclone Gerry, Cyclone Hape, and Tropical Storm Isha were active simultaneously in the South Indian Ocean. All four remained away from landmasses in their lifetimes. Cyclone Japhet while making landfall]] Cyclone Japhet made landfall on March 3 in the country of Mozambique. The name Japhet was contributed by Malawi . A total of nineteen people were killed. In the city of Vilanculos , over 90% of houses were unroofed. Many roads in the region were washed out by Japhet's rains. Cyclone Kalunde One of the most severe cyclones for the S. Indian basin, Cyclone Kalunde side-swiped Rodrigues Island , on March 12 , 2003 causing significant damage but no deaths. Cyclone Manou ]] Late in the season, an area of disturbed weather formed Tropical Disturbance 16 on May 2 . Météo-France upgraded it to a depression 2 days later. The cyclone strengthened into Tropical Storm Manou. The name Manou was contributed by Madagascar . After weakening, it restrengthened as it approached Madagascar. It strengthened into a cyclone as it neared the island. It turned and paralleled the course while drifting south. Land interaction and cooler waters weakened the cyclone, and Manou had dissipated by May 10 . Cyclone Manou caused death and destruction on Madagascar. Almost 90% of buildings in Vatomandry were destroyed and over 20000 people left homeless. Infrastructure was ruined, with power poles being knocked down and rice crops being flooded out. In Brickaville and Andevorento , almost all houses were destroyed. A total of 70 people, with 19 missing, were killed by Manou. Storm names These names were used to name storms that formed in the southwestern Indian Ocean during the period August 2002 to July 2003. Names that were not used are marked in gray. A new list is drawn up each year, so there is no need to consider the retirement of names. SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS |
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