Cyclone Gafilo
Meteorological history | |
---|---|
Formed | 1 March 2004 |
Extratropical | 15 March 2004 |
Dissipated | 18 March 2004 |
Very intense tropical cyclone | |
10-minute sustained (MFR) | |
Highest winds | 230 km/h (145 mph) |
Lowest pressure | 895 hPa (mbar); 26.43 inHg (Record low in the South-West Indian Ocean, Third-lowest in Southern Hemisphere) |
Category 5-equivalent tropical cyclone | |
1-minute sustained (SSHWS/JTWC) | |
Highest winds | 260 km/h (160 mph) |
Lowest pressure | 898 hPa (mbar); 26.52 inHg |
Overall effects | |
Fatalities | 363 |
Missing | +181 |
Damage | $250 million (2004 USD) |
Areas affected | Madagascar |
IBTrACS | |
Part of the 2003–04 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season |
Very Intense Tropical Cyclone Gafilo was both the
Forming south of Diego Garcia, it intensified into a moderate tropical storm on 3 March. One day later, Gafilo became a tropical cyclone, and it ultimately intensified into a very intense tropical cyclone on 6 March, prior to making landfall over Madagascar early on the next day. After crossing the island, Gafilo emerged into the Mozambique Channel and made landfall over Madagascar again on 9 March. After a three-day loop overland, the system arrived at the Indian Ocean on 13 March, and it transitioned into a subtropical depression on 14 March. Gafilo then became extratropical on the next day and weakened, before dissipating on 18 March.
Meteorological history
A disturbance formed south of
Although dry air significantly reduced deep convection on 4 March, MFR upgraded Gafilo to a tropical cyclone due to a banding
Shortly after slightly weakening due to land interaction, Gafilo made landfall in the vicinity of
Late on 9 March, Gafilo made landfall north of Morombe, Madagascar, and the system started to make a three-day clockwise loop over the south part of Madagascar.[11] For the system further weakened after landfall, JTWC analysed that Gafilo dissipated overland late on 11 March, as well as MFR issued a final warning on the overland depression which began to track southeastwards early on 12 March. Surprisingly, MFR began to issue warnings again on the completely disorganised system at noon on 12 March, as the residual centre was expected to go back overseas. Late on the same day, JTWC issued a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert on the overland remnants, because of improved deep convection over the low-level circulation centre, poleward outflow and weak vertical wind shear.[15]
Early on 13 March, Gafilo arrived at the
Impact
Madagascar
Gafilo caused strong winds and torrential rainfall over
As Elita had already struck Madagascar one month ago, damage from Gafilo created extreme devastation in the country. The National Rescue Council in Antananarivo reported 237 dead, 181 missing, 879 injured, and 304,000 homeless (174,000 in Antalaha alone). More than 20,000 homes were destroyed, as well as 413 public buildings and 3,400 schools were damaged, including 1,400 schools completely destroyed. The United Nations estimated that there were 700,000 disaster-stricken people, 280,000 of which needed urgent assistance.[11]
Despite being located 300 km (190 mi) north of Gafilo's centre, the wreck of the ferry 'Samson' still happened on the night of 7 March, offshore the northwestern port of
In Antalaha, food prices shot up by 35%, and the harbour was badly damaged and non-operational. Roads and bridges connecting the city to outlying villages were inaccessible, and electricity, water and telephone lines were cut.[21] Overall in Madagascar, the main damage caused by Gafilo was the subsequent flooding of vast areas in the north, northwest and southwest; Where extensive, the flooding caused serious damage to vanilla, rice and banana crops. In many places, the crops were expected to be totally lost.[11]
Moreover,
Other islands
Damage was minimal to other islands in the South-west Indian Ocean, but
Aftermath
Following the passage of Gafilo, the Malagasy government passed Inter-ministerial Order 17939/2004 in September 2004, which cleared the way for export of new and existing stocks of
Records
With ten-minute maximum sustained winds of 125 knots (232 km/h; 144 mph) (later equaled by Hellen in 2014 and Eunice in 2015, and surpassed by Fantala in 2016, with 10-min sustained winds of 135 knots (250 km/h; 155 mph)) and an atmospheric pressure of 895 hPa (26.4 inHg), Gafilo became the most intense tropical cyclone in the South-West Indian Ocean since reliable records began to be kept. In addition, Gafilo was the only tropical cyclone in the basin having an atmospheric pressure below 900 hPa (27 inHg) since Chris–Damia in 1982. Gafilo made landfall over Madagascar early on 7 March as a very intense tropical cyclone with ten-minute maximum sustained winds of 120 knots (220 km/h; 140 mph) and an atmospheric pressure of 905 hPa (26.7 inHg), becoming the strongest storm to make landfall over Madagascar, and even Africa, on record, tied with Hary for both of those records in 2002.
See also
- Cyclone Elita (2004)
- Cyclone Ivan (2008)
- Cyclone Giovanna (2012)
- Cyclone Fantala (2016) – Storm with the highest sustained winds recorded in the South-West Indian Ocean basin
- Cyclone Enawo (2017)
- Cyclone Mahina (1899) – The most intense tropical cyclone recorded in the Southern Hemisphere
- Cyclone Ambali(2019) – A very intense tropical cyclone that formed in December 2019
- Illegal logging in Madagascar
Notes
- ^ "At least 5 killed when cyclone hits Madagascar". UPI. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
- ^ "Advisories on 2 March 2004" (TXT). Mtarchive Data Server. Iowa State University of Science and Technology.
- ISBN 2951166583.
- ^ "Advisories on 3 March 2004" (TXT). Mtarchive Data Server. Iowa State University of Science and Technology.
- ^ GC501. "Earth Observatory imagery". NASA. Retrieved 8 March 2004.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Advisories on 4 March 2004". Mtarchive Data Server. Iowa State University of Science and Technology. Archived from the original (TXT) on 25 May 2020.
- ^ "Advisories on 5 March 2004" (TXT). Mtarchive Data Server. Iowa State University of Science and Technology.
- ISBN 2951166583.
- ^ "Advisories on 6 March 2004" (TXT). Mtarchive Data Server. Iowa State University of Science and Technology.
- ISBN 2951166583.
- ^ ISBN 2951166583.
- ^ "Advisories on 7 March 2004" (TXT). Mtarchive Data Server. Iowa State University of Science and Technology.
- ^ "Advisories on 8 March 2004" (TXT). Mtarchive Data Server. Iowa State University of Science and Technology.
- ^ "Advisories on 9 March 2004" (TXT). Mtarchive Data Server. Iowa State University of Science and Technology.
- ^ "Advisories on 12 March 2004". Mtarchive Data Server. Iowa State University of Science and Technology. Archived from the original (TXT) on 24 June 2013.
- ^ "Advisories on 13 March 2004" (TXT). Mtarchive Data Server. Iowa State University of Science and Technology.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Advisories on 14 March 2004" (TXT). Mtarchive Data Server. Iowa State University of Science and Technology.
- ^ "Advisories on 15 March 2004" (TXT). Mtarchive Data Server. Iowa State University of Science and Technology.
- ^ "Madagascar storm death toll rises". BBC News. 10 March 2004.
- ISBN 2951166583.
- ^ a b International Federation of Red Cross And Red Crescent Societies (17 March 2004). "Madagascar: Cyclone Gafilo" (PDF). ReliefWeb. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
- ^ International Federation of Red Cross And Red Crescent Societies (25 February 2005). "Madagascar: Cyclone Gafilo, Final Report, Appeal 08/04". ReliefWeb. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
- ISBN 2951166583.
- ^ Patel, E.R. (December 2007). "Logging of Rare Rosewood and Palisandre (Dalbergia spp.) within Marojejy National Park, Madagascar" (PDF). Madagascar Conservation & Development. 2 (1): 103–112. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 November 2012.
- ^ a b "Investigation into the illegal felling, transport and export of precious wood in SAVA region Madagascar" (PDF). Global Witness. August 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2010.
- ^ "Marojejy National Parks – News Updates". Marojejy National Park. November 2009. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 4 February 2010.
- ^ a b Gerety, Rowan Moore (16 December 2009). "Major international banks, shipping companies, and consumers play key role in Madagascar's logging crisis". WildMadagascar.org. Retrieved 29 January 2010.
References
- Saison cyclonique Sud-Ouest de l'océan Indien, 2003–2004 (in French and English). Météo-France. 2006. pp. 60–73. ISBN 2951166583.
- "Advisories during 2–15 March 2004". Mtarchive Data Server. Iowa State University of Science and Technology.
- Padgett, Gary. "Monthly Global Tropical Cyclone Summary March 2004". Tropical Cyclones. Australian Severe Weather. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
External links
- RSMC La Réunion Best Track Data of Very Intense Tropical Cyclone Gafilo (in French)
- JTWC Best Track Data Archived 9 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine of Tropical Cyclone 16S (Gafilo)
- JTWC 2004 Annual Tropical Cyclone Report Archived 6 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine