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The 2002–03 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season was one of the longest lasting and the second-most active season in the South-West Indian ocean. Storms during the season impacted the Mascarene Islands, Seychelles, Madagascar, and countries in southeastern Africa. The season began early when an unnamed tropical storm struck Seychelles in September, becoming the most damaging storm there in 50 years. The next system, Atang, was the first named storm of the season, but was only a tropical depression; it was named due to the threat to an outer island of Mauritius. Atang later struck Tanzania in a climatologically unusual area in November, resulting in unconfirmed deaths of fishermen. The first named storm to reach tropical storm intensity was Boura, which brushed the Mascarene Islands with gusty winds and rainfall. In December, Cyclone Crystal threatened to strike Mauritius but instead veered eastward, and later, Tropical Storm Delfina lasted from late December through early January 2003. Delfina damaged or destroyed thousands of houses in Mozambique and Malawi, killing 54 people. In January 2003, Severe Tropical Storm Ebula continued the steady activity, forming in the eastern portion of the basin. Later, Tropical Storm Fari crossed southern Madagascar with heavy rains, causing flooding and mudslides that left 3,400 people homeless. In February, there were four simultaneous tropical cyclones in the Indian Ocean, three of which in the basin. Cyclone Gerry formed first and the farthest west, passing just east of Mauritius and killing one person there. Cyclone Hape formed shortly thereafter, and Tropical Storm Isha formed farther east, having originated from the Australian basin. Cyclone Japhet struck southern Mozambique and produced widespread flooding in southeastern Africa, killing 25 people. In March, Cyclone Kalunde was the strongest storm of the season, reaching 10-minute sustained winds of 215 km/h (135 mph). It struck Rodrigues while weakening, damaging 1,600 houses and causing an island-wide power outage. About a month later, a subtropical cyclone named Luma intensified southeast of Madagascar and developed an eye. Lastly, Cyclone Manou was only the sixth May tropical cyclones on record, making a rare landfall in southeastern Madagascar, killing 89 people and destroying thousands of houses. ==Season summary== Météo-France's meteorological office in Réunion (MFR) is the official Regional Specialized Meteorological Center for the South-West Indian Ocean, tracking all tropical cyclones from the east coast of Africa to 90° E. At the beginning of the season, the MFR moved the tropical cyclone year from August 1 to July 1. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC), which is a joint United States Navy – United States Air Force task force that issues tropical cyclone warnings for the region, also issued advisories for storms during the season.〔 During the season, MFR issued advisories on 16 systems, of which 13 intensified to reach tropical storm force winds, meaning conditions were generally favorable for tropical cyclogenesis. The 13 systems with tropical storm force winds is only one short of the most such storms since the beginning of satellite-tracking in the 1967–68 season, set in the 1993–94 season. This is four more than the average of nine named storms. In this season, there were 24 days on which tropical cyclones were active, slightly above normal, but only one storm – Kalunde – remained at that intensity for more than three days. By contrast, there were 68 days in which a tropical storm was active in the basin, which is 15 days above normal. The season began early and ended late; only four seasons began earlier and four ended later than this season since the start of satellite-coverage in the basin.〔 In addition to the named storms and an unnamed tropical storm in September, there was one non-developing tropical depression. On December 25, Tropical Depression 05 developed in the northeastern portion of the basin. It moved to the south and later southeast, crossing into the Australian region on December 27. A day later, the JTWC issued its last advisory.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「2002–03 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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