List of South-West Indian Ocean cyclones before 1963

TIROS IX image of a cyclone in the South-West Indian Ocean on February 13, 1965

The following is a list of South-West Indian Ocean tropical cyclones before 1963.

Storms

1848

On January 11, 1848, the first tropical cyclone on record was observed in the basin.^[1]

April 1892 Mauritius cyclone

1200 deaths - 50,000 homeless. The most dramatic and the most devastating cyclone in the history of the country. Sugar production fell 42%. A third of the city of Port Louis was destroyed in a few hours.

February 1899 Madagascar cyclone

On February 4, a cyclone hit Vohemar in northeastern Madagascar, producing a minimum pressure of 972 mbar (28.69 inHg).^[2]

1904 & 1905 Comoros cyclones

On December 14, a cyclone moved through the Comoros, causing damage to the island's vanilla and coffee plantations. Crop production declined by 9% as a result of the storm, causing food shortages after little rainfall in 1905. On December 16, 1905, another cyclone moved struck the island group, killing 30 people and injuring 150. Responding to the two cyclones, the French government provided Fr.360,000 to the island group toward rebuilding and assistance for residents.^[3]

March 1927 cyclone

Considered the strongest to strike Madagascar for at least 67 years,^[4] a cyclone hit the eastern portion of the country on March 3,^[5] potentially causing as many as 500 deaths.^[6]

Cyclone of 1948

On January 22, a tropical disturbance formed northeast of Mauritius. Initially it moved to the southwest, but turned to the south on January 26. The next day, the storm passed just west of Réunion with winds estimated at around 120 km/h (75 mph), and later dissipated on January 28.^[7] The storm killed about 100 people and injured hundreds. About 60% of the island's houses were damaged or destroyed, and about 70% of the crops were destroyed.^[8]

Cyclone Astrid

Lasting from December 1957 until early in January 1958, Cyclone Astrid struck Mozambique and later produced torrential rainfall in northern South Africa, reaching over 500 mm (20 in).^[9]

March 1959 Madagascar cyclone

A series of cyclones killed 100 people in Madagascar, causing widespread flooding.^[10]

Cyclone Alix (19 January 1960)

Cyclone Alix struck Mauritius Island in February 1960. The island suffered a devastating wind from 160 km/h to 200 km/h for nearly 20 hours.

Cyclone Carol (28 February 1960)

Carol directly hit Mauritius where its eye passed over the island and it is assumed to be the most powerful cyclone ever recorded in the South-West Indian Ocean with wind gust of 160 km/h to 256 km/h, making at least 300,000 people homeless and destroying 40% of Mauritian main economy at that time, which was the sugar cane crop. It left 42 deaths.

Cyclone Jenny (27–28 February 1962)

Cyclone Jenny started to develop on 26 February 1962 at around 22hr , moving in a southeasterly direction. On 27 February 1962, the cyclone passed 30 km off the north coast of Mauritius with a maximum wind speed of 235 km/h, causing 14 deaths, injuring hundreds, leaving 8,000 homeless, and considerable damage in the northern portion of the island. Afterwards, Cyclone Jenny moved towards Mauritius at an average speed of 40 km/h. Next, it moved to the north of Reunion Island on 28 February 1962, where it killed 37 people and injured a further 150.

References

See also

• South-West Indian Ocean tropical cyclone climatology