Cyclone Tomas (2010)

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Severe Tropical Cyclone Tomas
Category 4 cyclone ( Australian scale )
Category 4 Tropical Cyclone ( SSHWS )
Cyclone Tomas at its greatest intensity off the coast of Vanua Levu, Fiji
Cyclone Tomas at its greatest intensity off the coast of Vanua Levu , Fiji
Emergence March 9, 2010
resolution March 18, 2010
Peak wind
speed
185  km / h (115  mph ) (10 minutes sustained)
215  km / h (130  mph ) (sustained for 1 minute)
Lowest air pressure 925  hPa ( mbar )
dead 3 total
Property damage 45 million US $ (2010)
Affected
areas 		Fiji
Season overview:
South Pacific cyclone season 2009–2010

Cyclone Tomas , officially known as Severe Tropical Cyclone Tomas or 14F , was the most intense tropical cyclone to hit Fiji since Cyclone Bebe in 1972 . The system emerged on March 9th from a tropical disturbance and intensified steadily in an environment favorable for development until it had gained enough strength on March 11th to be classified as Tropical Cyclone Tomas . Tomas was the eighth named tropical cyclone of the South Pacific cyclone season 2009-2010 . Over the next few days, the cyclone intensified moderately, reaching severe tropical cyclone status on March 13th. Tomas continued to strengthen and affected parts of Fiji from March 14th. According to the Fiji Meteorological Service (FMS), when the cyclone made its slightest approach to Vanua Levu on March 15, Tomas reached its greatest strength with continuous ten-minute wind speeds of 175 km / h and a central air pressure of 930 hPa. At the same time Tomas was rated by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center as a cyclone equivalent to Category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale due to continuous one-minute winds of 215 km / h .

Cyclone Tomas turned out to be very destructive for Fiji. Many of the island's residents became homeless and entire settlements were flooded. At least one person was killed in the storm after being washed into the sea trying to rescue family members. Wind gusts of up to 280 km / h were reported from some of the islands further out.

Storm course

Train

Shortly after the Regional Specialized Meteorological Center in Nadi issued the first warnings about Tropical Fault 13F on March 9, the FMS began monitoring another fault, 14F , located further east. The following day, deep convection developed around the system's low-level circulation center , prompting the JTWC to monitor the system more closely for cyclonic activity. Later on March 10, the FMS classified the system, which continues to be better organized, as a tropical depression. Since the system was in an area with low wind shear and convection continued to form over the expanding low pressure area, meteorologists assumed an intensification. At around 3:00 p.m. UTC on March 11, the JTWC issued the first full warning of the cyclone, naming it Tropical Storm 19P . Several hours later, the FMS upgraded the system to a Category 1 cyclone on the Australian Cyclone Scale and named the storm Tomas . A rapid intensification of the cyclone in the following 48 hours was expected, since the water surface temperatures in the path of the cyclone were more than 30 ° C and were thus well above the value necessary for cyclone formation.

During March 12, Cyclone Tomas intensified steadily and early the following day the JTWC upgraded the storm to Category 1 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale as Tomas reached sustained one-minute winds of 120 km / h. Convective rain bands increased on March 13, allowing the cyclone the following day to intensify into the fourth severe tropical cyclone of the season. Around the same time, the JTWC upgraded Tomas to category two because of continuous one-minute winds of 155 km / h. On the afternoon of March 14, cyclone Tomas formed an eye and the FMS assumes that the cyclone at this point in time reached ten-minute wind speeds of 150 km / h and a central air pressure of 950 hPa. The JTWC noted a further intensification and upgraded the cyclone to Category 3. When the cyclone passed Vanua Levu on March 15, the storm reached its peak with sustained one-minute winds of 175 km / h and an air pressure of 930 hPa. The JTWC graded the cyclone at the time with one-minute sustained winds of 215 km / h in category 4.

The cyclone finally hit a southeastern pulling direction and accelerated forward. On March 18, the system became extra-tropical.

Effects

Rainiest tropical cyclones in Fiji
Highest recorded rainfall
Amount of rain Storm station
rank (mm)
1 755 Bebe (1972) Suva
2 615 Gavin (1997) Monasavu dam
3 495 Mick (2009) Monasavu dam
4th 386 04F (2009) Monasavu dam.
5 350 Tomas (2010)
6th 341 June (1997) Monasavu dam
7th 311 Ami (2003) Taveuni Island
8th 293 Tam (2006) Rotuma
9 190 Cliff (2007) Lakeba
10 110 Daman (2007) Rotuma

One person was killed on Vanua Levu . She was hit by a large wave near Namilamila Bay while attempting to get four of her family members to safety and washed out to sea.

Telecommunications were cut on March 15 on the northernmost islands of Fiji, Cikobia and Qelelevu. Many homes on the waterways and on the shores of the Pacific Ocean were washed away by floods and storm surges . The storm surge reached a height of up to seven meters. Parts of the region recorded more than 350 mm of precipitation in two days. Power lines and the water supply were cut on several islands, and thousands of residents had to go to temporary shelters. Since at least 50 houses were destroyed by the passage of the cyclone in an initial assessment, the Fijian authorities declared a state of emergency for the northern and eastern administrative districts.

After the storm, the governments of New Zealand and Australia each made $ 1 million of their respective currencies available for emergency relief efforts in Fiji. The New Zealand Air Force flew in relief supplies, including canvas sheets and water treatment equipment.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Nadi Marine Bulletin for March 9, 2010 at 1800 UTC ( English ) Fiji Meteorological Service. March 9, 2010. Archived from the original on March 9, 2010. Retrieved on March 14, 2010.
  2. ^ Significant Tropical Weather Outlook for the Western and South Pacific Oceans ( English ) Joint Typhoon Warning Center. March 10, 2010. Accessed on March 14, 2010.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: dead link / ftp.met.fsu.edu  
  3. ^ Nadi Marine Bulletin for March 10, 2010 at 1800 UTC ( English ) Fiji Meteorological Service. March 10, 2010. Archived from the original on March 10, 2010. Retrieved on March 14, 2010.
  4. ^ Tropical Depression 14F Advisory A1 and A2 ( English ) Fiji Meteorological Service. March 11, 2010. Accessed on March 14, 2010.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: dead link / ftp.met.fsu.edu  
  5. ^ Tropical Cyclone 19P Advisory NR 001 ( English ) Joint Typhoon Warning Center. March 11, 2010. Archived from the original on March 11, 2010. Retrieved on March 14, 2010.
  6. ↑ a b c d Joint Typhoon Warning Center: Tropical Cyclone 19P (Tomas) Running Best Track ( English ) United States Navy. 2010. Retrieved March 14, 2010.
  7. ^ Russell D. Thompson: Hurricanes in the Fiji Area: Causes and Consequences . In: New Zealand Journal of Geography . 81, No. 1, 1986, pp. 7-12. doi : 10.1111 / j.0028-8292.1986.tb00222 .
  8. ↑ a b James P. Terry, Rishi Raj: Island Environment and Landscape Responses to 1997 Tropical Cyclones in Fiji . In: University of Hawai'i Press (Ed.): Pacific Science . 53, No. 3, 1999, pp. 257-272. Retrieved October 14, 2010.
  9. ^ Fiji Islands Climate Summary December 2009 . Fiji Meteorological Service. January 13, 2010. Retrieved February 15, 2010.
  10. ↑ Preliminary rainfall data for January 2009 . Fiji Meteorological Service. February 3, 2009. Retrieved September 8, 2009.
  11. ↑ 'Few' deaths, 18,000 evacuated as Tomas smashes Fiji . NZ Herald. March 10, 2010. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
  12. ↑ James P. Terry, Simon McGree, and Rishi Raj: The exceptional flooding in Vanua Levu Island during Tropical Cyclone Ami in January 2003 . In: Japan Science and technology information aggregator (Ed.): Journal of Natural disaster science . 26, No. 1, September 1, 2004, pp. 27-36. doi : 10.2328 / jnds.26.27 . Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  13. ↑ Fiji Islands Climate Summary January 2006 . Fiji Meteorological Service. February 15, 2006. Retrieved March 31, 2010.
  14. ^ Fiji Islands Climate Summary April 2007 . Fiji Meteorological Service. May 16, 2007. Retrieved September 8, 2009.
  15. ^ Fiji Islands Climate Summary December 2007 . Fiji Meteorological Service. January 4, 2008. Retrieved September 8, 2009.
  16. ↑ Vaimoana Tapaleao: Storms fiercer than Katrina batter Fiji and Solomons ( English ) New Zealand Herald. March 16, 2010. Retrieved March 15, 2010.
  17. ↑ Associated Press: 'Few' deaths, 18,000 evacuated as Tomas smashes Fiji ( English ) New Zealand Herald. March 16, 2010. Retrieved March 16, 2010.
  18. ↑ Commodore JV Bainimarama : Natural Disaster Management Act 1998: Declaration of Natural Disaster ( English , PDF; 64 kB) Pacific Disaster.net. March 16, 2010. Archived from the original on July 24, 2011. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved March 17, 2010. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.pacificdisaster.net
  19. ^ Govt commits $ 1m to Fiji after cyclone . TVNZ , March 17, 2010, archived from the original on November 8, 2014 ; accessed on January 24, 2016 (English, original website no longer available).