Notable Tropical Cyclones

Severe Tropical Cyclone Harold in early April that wreaked havoc in the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, and Tonga.

Hurricane Laura was a powerful category 4 hurricane (on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale) that made landfall near Cameron, Louisiana, USA, accompanied by a devastating storm surge of at least 5 metres (17 feet) above ground level.  It was responsible for 47 direct deaths, in the United States and on the Island of Hispaniola, and more than US$ 19 billion in damage.

Hurricanes Eta and Iota both made landfall less than two weeks apart during November 2020 in the same area of the Nicaraguan coast just south of Puerto Cabezas. The two powerful tropical cyclones caused extensive flooding in Nicaragua, Honduras and other adjacent Central American countries, resulting in at least 272 fatalities and damage losses of more than US$ 9 billion.

Two press releases on the 2020 hurricane season were published, which you may want to consult: Hurricane Committee discusses record-breaking 2020 season, plans for 2021 and WMO Hurricane Committee retires tropical cyclone names and ends the use of Greek alphabet

Hurricane Dorian in August was a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, and the strongest hurricane on record in the northwestern Bahamas. More than 200 lives were lost. Dorian caused catastrophic damage mainly in Abaco and eastern Grand Bahama Islands with total damage estimated at $3.4 billion (USD). More than 75 percent of all homes on the island were damaged. The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), an agency which the government of the Bahamas asked to conduct a study following Dorian’s trail of destruction, stated that the hurricane left 29,500 people homeless and/or jobless.

Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm Fani developed near the equator (near 2.70°N and 88.70°E), a rare occurrence at such a low latitude. With a maximum sustained wind speed of 215 km/h, it was one the most intense cyclone to cross the Odisha coast. Since the advent of meteorological satellites (1965 onwards), Fani was the most intense cyclonic storm to cross the Odisha coast during the pre-monsoon season.

Cyclone Kyarr in late October was the strongest Arabian Sea Cyclone on record and second strongest in the North Indian Ocean.

Typhoon Hagibis in the Western Pacific Ocean in October caused more than US$ 15 billion direct economic loss in damage after making landfall in Japan.

Tropical Cyclone Idai made landfall on 14 March in the northern vicinity of Beira, Mozambique, with 165 km/h winds with gusts up to 230 km/h. It brought torrential rains and very high seas – wave heights exceeded 10 metres. It caused the death of more than 600 people and injured some 1 600. It affected more than 1.8 million people and caused estimated losses of US$ 773 million in damages to buildings, infrastructure and agriculture.

A few weeks later, the country suffered another unprecedented event. Tropical Cyclone Kenneth, with wind gusts of up to 220km/h, made landfall on 25 April in northern Mozambique. It became the strongest cyclone on record to hit the African continent, making landfall at a latitude rarely observed. Two storms of such intensity have never before struck Mozambique in the same season. Before making landfall in Mozambique, Kenneth impacted people in the Union of Comoros with consequences on health, education, housing, strategic infrastructure, agriculture, fisheries, livestock, socio-economic life, etc.

Hurricane Michael in October, with sustained winds of 249 km/h, was the third most intense hurricane to make landfall in the contiguous U.S. based on central pressure, and the fourth most intense based on wind speed. It caused US$ 25 billion in damages, and was the costliest tropical cyclone in 2018.

In September, Typhoon Mangkhut caused severe damage to the Philippines, China, including Hong Kong and Macao, and Viet Nam and affected Lao PDR and Thailand. It was highly destructive. Hong Kong issued the highest tropical cyclone warning, Signal No.10, for 10 hours on 16 September 2018 – that was the second longest duration of a No. 10 signal in Hong Kong since 1946. The cyclone left a total at least 134 fatalities and damages of US$ 3.77 billion in its path.

Severe Tropical Cyclone Gita (February) was the most significant cyclone to occur in the previous two seasons over this region. Gita reached Category 4 intensity before causing widespread damage on Tonga, the country most impacted by the cyclone with hundreds of homes and crops destroyed – estimated damages of US$356 million. There were also significant damages on Samoa, American Samoa, the southern Fijian islands and New Zealand, where a state of emergency was declared in the wake of the system.

Hurricane Harvey made its final landfall in southwestern Louisiana on 30 August. Harvey’s centre was over or near the Texas coast for four days. Over that period, southeastern Texas recorded a historic amount of rainfall – more than 1524 mm – resulting in catastrophic flooding. Harvey is the second-most costly hurricane in U.S. history, after Katrina (2005). At least 68 people in Texas died in the storm, the largest number of direct deaths from a tropical cyclone in that state since 1919.

Hurricane Irma made landfall on Barbuda and St. Martin on 6 September and sustained its Category 5 intensity for 60 hours – the second longest period on record, behind the 1932 Hurricane of Santa Cruz, Cuba. It hit 16 countries and caused at least 134 deaths.

Hurricane Maria, the most intense hurricane on record to make landfall on Dominica, it traversed the island on 19 September then struck Puerto Rico on the 20th. Maria was the North Atlantic’s deadliest tropical cyclone of the year with over 3 000 casualties in Puerto Rico and Dominica alone. From 1883 to present, Dominica has experienced 10 major hurricanes – Maria was its first Category 5. Dominica, called the Nature Island, saw its vegetation practically eradicated and 95% of its housing, all of its agriculture and most of its infrastructure wrecked beyond repair.  The World Bank estimates Dominica’s damage and loss from Maria at US$1.3 billion or 224% of its Gross Domestic Product. NOAA estimates related damages in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands at US$ 90 billion, making it the third costliest hurricane in U.S. history, behind Katrina (2005) and Harvey (2017). Maria is by far the most destructive hurricane to hit Puerto Rico in modern times, the previous costliest on record was Georges (1998) with damages estimated at US$ 5 billion (in 2017).

Hurricane Nate made landfall in Louisiana and Mississippi in October causing an estimated US$ 225 million in damage.

Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Ockhi (29 November - 6 December) over the Bay of Bengal, with the life span of 162 hours, was the deadliest tropical cyclone of the year in the basin with 911 deaths recorded.

Typhoon Hato formed east of the Philippines on 19 August and caused severe damage in southern China, including Hong Kong and Macau, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Viet Nam. Typhoon Hato was the strongest tropical cyclones to have struck Macao since 1953. It was the first time that the Macao Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (SMG) hoisted the Hurricane Wind Signal No.10 in 18 years. The maximum mean winds at cross-sea bridge was 132 km/h, with record-breaking gusts of 217.4 km/h.

Intense tropical cyclone Enawo in early March, the most violent event in Madagascar since Gafilo in 2004, caused more than 80 casualties.

Severe tropical cyclone Debbie was the most significant system to make landfall in the season. It caused widespread damage and flooding in parts of Queensland and New South Wales in late March.

Cyclone Donna (Category 5) in May was the strongest off-season event in the Southern Hemisphere. It directly impacted the Solomon Islands – 2 fatalities were recorded – Vanuatu and New Caledonia.

Tropical cyclone Cempaka formed south of Java in late November. While the eye of the cyclone remained over water, storm force winds generated severe swells and heavy rainfall impacted much of Java and killing 19 people.

Haiti following hurricane Matthew

Hurricane Matthew in September was the strongest and deadliest hurricane of the season. Its winds exceeded 220 km/h. Its heavy rains caused torrential flooding and severe flash floods, mudslides and landslides. Matthew claimed 595 lives, mostly in Haiti, and left economic losses amounting to US$ 15.83 billion in its path. The strong winds, coastal flooding and rain caused heavy flooding and landslides in Haiti such that infrastructure, agricultural crops and natural ecosystems were destroyed, gravely setting back the struggling economy. The southeastern United States also experienced widespread devastation.

Cyclone Fantala in April was amongst the top five most intense cyclones in the basin. Its life-span of almost 10 cyclone days is the new Accumulated Cyclone Energy record for the basin.

Cyclone Winston made landfall in Fiji in February as an intense Category 5 system with estimated 10-minute average winds of 296 km/h and gusts of 388 km/h. Winston’s intensely devastating winds hit Fiji, inundating coastal communities in the affected islands. A total of 44 lives were lost and damages to Fiji’s economy was estimated at US$ 1.4 billion.

The costliest tropical cyclone in was Typhoon Mujigae, which made landfall in China on 4 October, causing US$ 4.25 billion economic losses.

Hurricane Patricia classified as Category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale – an extremely intense hurricane. It reached maximum sustained winds of 342 km/h and gusts of 400 km/h on 23 October when it was 255 km south-southwest of Manzanillo, Colima (Mexico). It made landfall in Mexico in a sparsely populated area.

Cyclone Pam was the strongest system in the tropical cyclone season. It made landfall in Vanuatu on 14 March as a Category 5 tropical cyclone with estimated sustained winds of 268 km/h. It caused enormous damages to Vanuatu and resulted in 11 fatalities