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122-476: The 1997–98 South Pacific cyclone season was the most active South Pacific tropical cyclone season on record, with 16  tropical cyclones occurring within the South Pacific basin between 160°E and 120°W . The season started earlier than normal with 3 systems developing before the official start of the season on November 1, 1997, while the final system of the season dissipated on May 3, 1998, after

244-420: A London Missionary Society evangelist from Bora Bora , went ashore to teach his religion. Further missionaries followed, and by 1830 the island had converted to Christianity. From 1830 to 1850, Rarotonga was a popular stop for whalers and trading schooners, and trade began with the outside world. The missionaries attempted to exclude other Europeans as a bad influence, and in 1845 Rarotongan ariki prohibited

366-531: A Category 1 hurricane on the SSHWS. Over the next couple of days, the system moved southwards before the FMS reported during December 8, that Pam had peaked as a Category 3 severe tropical cyclone with 10-minute sustained wind-speeds of 120 km/h (75 mph). However, during the systems post analysis, the FMS reduced these winds slightly to 110 km/h (70 mph) which made Pam a category 2 tropical cyclone, rather than

488-581: A Category 3 Severe Tropical Cyclone and posed a threat to Vanuatu during the next day. It caused one death in Vanuatu, when a man drowned after being swept away by large swells and rough seas while fishing. The system then meandered within the Coral Sea between the Queensland coast and Vanuatu for the next three weeks, before degenerating into a remnant low near Far North Queensland on 25 January. After its decay,

610-576: A Category 3 severe tropical cyclone, with 10-minute sustained winds of 120 km/h (75 mph). Later that day, the JTWC reported that Susan had become equivalent to a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale , as atmospheric convection surrounding the system organized further and it developed an eye feature. Susan subsequently moved towards the southwest as the subtropical ridge of high pressure weakened. Early on January 5,

732-551: A Category 4 severe tropical cyclone while it was located about 435 km (270 mi) to the southeast of Nadi , Fiji , where it was close enough for the system to produce gale-force winds in several southern and western Fijian Islands . Later that day, Susan began to interact with Ron . By 0000 UTC on January 9, Susan had completely absorbed Ron. The final advisories on the combined system were then released later that day as Susan lost its tropical characteristics and began to undergo an extratropical transition. The remnants of

854-514: A category 1 tropical cyclone. After developing into a tropical cyclone, Osea started moving towards the southeast. During November 26, both agency's reported that the system had reached its peak intensity, with the FMS reporting 10-minute sustained windspeeds of 150 km/h (90 mph), while the NPMOC reported peak 1-minute sustained windspeeds of 165 km/h (105 mph). After it had peaked, Osea started to gradually weaken, before during November 27

976-574: A category 3 hurricane on the SSHWS. After peaking in intensity Martin started to weaken, as it interacted with a frontal system and started to accelerate towards the south-southeast. During November 4, Martin passed within 250 km (155 mi) of Tahiti as it became a category 2 tropical cyclone and started to transition into an extratropical cyclone. Later that day, the NPMOC issued their final advisory on Martin as it had become vertically sheared, with its surface center dislocated about 110 km (70 mi) from its upper level center. During November 5,

1098-462: A category 3 severe tropical cyclone on the Australian scale. During December 8, the system passed about 140 km (85 mi) to the east of Palmerston Island, before it passed about 75 km (45 mi) to the southwest of Rarotonga early the next day. During December 9, Pam started to rapidly weaken as it transitioned into an extratropical cyclone , while the FMS reported during the next day that

1220-495: A category one tropical cyclone, and named it as Tui, while it was located about 80 km (50 mi) to the northwest of Apia. After it was named, Tui passed over the Samoan Islands of Upolu and Savai'i , before at 0600 UTC, both the FMS and the NPMOC reported that Tui had peaked with 10 and 1 minute sustained windspeeds of 75 km/h (45 mph). After it had crossed Samoa, the system remained near stationary, just to

1342-563: A concrete structure. On Wallis and Futuna a crisis centre was set up in the capital Mata-Utu and Air Calédonie cancelled flights to the islands, as Wallis Island received winds of up to 130 km/h (80 mph), with Hihifo District recording rainfall totals of 109 mm (4.3 in), which lead to widespread damage to structures and food crops and disrupting water, electricity supplies and communication network, and Futuna Island recorded tidal waves of between 7–9 metres (23–30 ft), leading to evacuations further inland. Ron became

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1464-451: A cyclonic circulation became evident within an area of convection, that was located about 500 km (310 mi) to the southeast of Yaren in Nauru . Over the next few days the system moved southwards, towards the upper subtropical ridge while outflow gradually developed further. During October 8, the system was classified as a tropical depression as the system rapidly developed further, before

1586-467: A figure of 12 severe tropical cyclones per year. In the years building up to World War II , Visher's work became the primary source for information about tropical cyclones in the South Pacific. However, there was not enough information available to allow for an accurate depiction of tropical cyclone tracks. During Visher's time and until the start of World War II , there was not enough. However, in

1708-421: A landslide during February 6. The system that was to become Yali was first noted as a tropical disturbance, to the northeast of Vanuatu during March 17. During that day atmospheric convection over the disturbance's low level circulation center became better defined, before the JTWC initiated advisories and designated the system as Tropical Cyclone 29P, while the system was located about 650 km (405 mi) to

1830-404: A low coastal plain consisting of beaches, a storm ridge, lowland swamps, and alluvial deposits. This in turn is surrounded by a fringing reef , which ranges from 30 to 900 metres wide. The reef is shallow, with a maximum depth of 1.5m, and has a number of passages, notably at Avarua , Avatiu and Ngatangiia. Beyond the reef crest, the outer reef slopes steeply to deep water. The lagoon

1952-508: A major export crop, though exports had been disrupted by poor shipping. In 1945 the industry was revived with a government-led citrus replanting scheme, and in 1961 a canning factory was opened to allow the export of juice. The industry survived until the 1980s, but collapsed after New Zealand adopted Rogernomics and removed privileged market access. An airstrip was built in 1944, leading to regular flights to Fiji , Tonga , Samoa and Aitutaki . The airport and better shipping links saw

2074-506: A marked difference in the tracks of South Pacific tropical cyclones and systems in other basins. This work was subsequently extended in 1956, by the then director of the New Zealand Meteorological Service: John Fletcher Gabites, to cover the seasons between 1952–53 and 1955–56. Gabites subsequently wrote a series of papers during 1963 on various aspects of South Pacific tropical cyclones including on

2196-440: A mid-level trough and strong north-westerlies. During October 12, Lusi degenerated into an extratropical cyclone, before the remnants were last noted to the northeast of New Zealand. There was no impact caused by Lusi on any island, however, widespread heavy rainfall and gale-force winds were reported on several Fijian Islands. On October 26, the FMS reported that a tropical depression had developed about 295 km (185 mi) to

2318-406: A new center developed to the northeast of the old centre. Deep convection had developed around this new centre, however, the convection did not persist as the system was located in a region of strong vertical windshear, before the depression dissipated to the northwest of Fiji during October 28. On October 27, the FMS started to monitor a weak tropical disturbance that had developed to the north of

2440-464: A number of papers on tropical cyclones in the Pacific. These papers contained information about 259 tropical storms in the South Pacific between 160°E and 140°W, two of which occurred during 1789 and 1819, while the rest occurred between 1830 and 1923. Visher also tried to estimate how many systems were occurring on an annual basis in each area, but overcompensated for his incomplete records and came up with

2562-433: A population of 1100, about 95% of the infrastructure was destroyed. The town hall , two schools, and an airfield were destroyed. The town hall was evacuated due to the strong winds. In addition, 77 homes on the island were destroyed. Due to flooding, many highways were blocked. On Bora-Bora, an island which had a population of 4,500 at the time, roughly 30% of the infrastructure was destroyed, including 309 houses. On

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2684-480: A press release, which predicted that because of the strong El Niño phenomenon , there would be more tropical cyclones than average. In particular they predicted that due to the strong El Niño, countries within the western part of the basin were likely to see fewer tropical cyclones during the season than countries within the eastern part of the basin. The Southern Cook Islands , Tonga , Tuvalu and French Polynesia , were predicted to have an increased risk, while Fiji

2806-546: A result, ten tropical cyclones formed to the east of the International Dateline, with seven of these tropical cyclones going on to affect French Polynesia. After the 1996–97 season had one of the latest ends to a season on record, the 1997–98 season started early, with three tropical systems observed before the start of the season on November 1, 1997. Two other tropical systems, including the precursor tropical disturbance to Severe Tropical Cyclone Martin developed, before

2928-405: A serious threat to Vanuatu . However, during that afternoon, Susan recurved back toward the southeast just in time to spare Vanuatu a direct hit. After turning away from Vanuatu, Susan began to accelerate towards the southeast while remaining near or at its peak intensities, before starting to weaken significantly during January 7. The FMS then reported early the next day that Susan had weakened into

3050-537: A spokesperson for NIWA commented that holidaymakers heading for the Pacific had a little chance of running into a cyclone as the damaging core of the cyclone was expected to be over the ocean, while some cyclones were expected to be relatively weak. It was also noted that collectively the Pacific Islands Meteorological Services were bracing for up to 15 tropical cyclones during the season, compared to 12 during an average season. The 1997–98 season

3172-472: A tropical depression developed about 650 km (405 mi) to the northeast of Apia in American Samoa. Over the next couple of days the system moved eastwards while gradually developing further, with the NPMOC issuing a tropical cyclone formation alert on the system early on February 1. Later that day the FMS named the system Veli as it had intensified into a category 1 tropical cyclone, while it came under

3294-487: A water shortage, while an extensive food shortage was recorded because of severe damage to agriculture and vegetation of the islands. During January 7, Cyclone Katrina moved into the basin as a Category 2 tropical cyclone, while it was located about 90 km (55 mi) to the south of the island of Rennel , in the Solomon Islands . The system subsequently moved south-eastwards and intensified further, before it became

3416-402: A weak circulation remained in the vicinity of Samoa for several days, before a westerly surge from the monsoon resulted in a tropical cyclone developing during February 1. However, due to uncertainties in the continuation of Tui after several other weak low-pressure areas had formed, the FMS decided to treat the cyclone as a separate system and named it Wes. Tropical Cyclone Bart developed during

3538-429: A westerly flow and passed through French Polynesia's Tuamotu Islands . During February 1, the system peaked as a Category 2 tropical cyclone with 10-minute wind speeds of 110 km/h (70 mph), before the NPMOC initiated advisories and designated Ursula as Tropical Cyclone 17P, with peak 1-minute wind speeds of 120 km/h (75 mph). Over the next day the system transitioned into an extratropical cyclone, before

3660-669: Is a very popular tourist destination with many resorts, hotels and motels. The chief town, Avarua , on the north coast, is the capital of the Cook Islands. Captain John Dibbs , master of the colonial brig Endeavour , is credited as the European discoverer on 25 July 1823, while transporting the missionary Reverend John Williams . Rarotonga is a kidney-shaped volcanic island , 32 km (20 mi) in circumference, and 11.2 km (7.0 mi) wide on its longest (east-west) axis. The island

3782-457: Is at its widest off the southeast coast in the area of the Muri Lagoon . This area contains four small islets or motu . From north to south, the islets are: Another small islet, Motutoa, lies on the reef flat on the northwest coast. The interior of the island is dominated by eroded volcanic peaks cloaked in dense vegetation. Paved and unpaved roads allow access to valleys but the interior of

1997–98 South Pacific cyclone season - Misplaced Pages Continue

3904-521: Is the summit of an extinct Pliocene or Pleistocene volcano, which rises 5000 meters from the seafloor. The island was formed between 2.3 to 1.6 million years ago, with a later stage of volcanism between 1.4 and 1.1 million years ago. While its position is consistent with being formed by the Macdonald hotspot , its age is too young, and its formation is attributed to a short-lived Rarotonga hotspot , or to rejuvenated volcanism at Aitutaki . The core of

4026-595: The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) and Naval Pacific Meteorology and Oceanography Center (NPMOC), also monitored the basin and issued warnings for American interests. During the season the FMS issued warnings and assigned names to any tropical cyclones that developed between the Equator and 25°S while MetService issued warnings for any that were located to the south of 25°S. The JTWC issued warnings for American interests on any significant tropical cyclone that

4148-468: The ariki of Rarotonga as an independent government. By this time Makea Takau Ariki had become paramount among the ariki , and was recognised as the "Queen of Rarotonga" on a visit to New Zealand. In 1888 the island became a British protectorate after a petition from the ariki . In 1901, it was annexed by New Zealand. Oranges had been introduced by the Bounty mutineers, and after annexation developed into

4270-556: The 2002–03, 2004–05 and 2009–10 seasons all experienced activity, near the long term average of about 8 - 9 tropical cyclones. Rarotonga Rarotonga is the largest and most populous of the Cook Islands . The island is volcanic, with an area of 67.39 km (26.02 sq mi), and is home to almost 75% of the country's population, with 10,898 of a total population of 15,040. The Cook Islands' Parliament buildings and international airport are on Rarotonga. Rarotonga

4392-426: The FMS during April 21. When it was named the system was located about 300 km (185 mi) to the east-southeast of Manihiki and had started to move westwards. During April 22, the FMS estimated that Alan had reached its peak intensity with 10-minute sustained wind speeds of 75 km/h (45 mph), as the system started to pose several forecasting challenges as it was difficult to locate and estimate how intense

4514-472: The FMS reported that Susan had peaked as a category 5 severe tropical cyclone with 10-minute sustained wind speeds of 145 mph (230 km/h), while the JTWC reported that Susan had peaked with 1-minute wind speeds of 160 mph (260 km/h) equivalent to a low-end Category 5 hurricane on the SSHS. As the system reached its peak intensity, Susan was moving towards the southwest and as a result, it began to pose

4636-781: The FMS reported that a tropical depression had developed within the South Pacific Convergence Zone, about 230 km (145 mi) to the northwest of the American Samoan island of Apia. During that day the depression moved slowly eastwards and intensified further, before it was named Wes by the FMS, after it had developed into a Category 1 tropical cyclone during February 1. The NPMOC subsequently designated it as Tropical Cyclone 19P and initiated advisories later that day, with peak 1-minute sustained wind speeds of 95 km/h (60 mph). The system subsequently continued to move eastwards and passed about 95 km (60 mi) to

4758-538: The FMS reported that the system had become a category 2 tropical cyclone on the Australian scale, before the NPMOC reported that Martin had become equivalent to a category 1 hurricane on the SSHWS. During November 2, the system continued to intensify as it moved towards the southeast and became equivalent to a category 2 hurricane on the SSHWS, as it moved towards the French Polynesian Society Islands of Bellingshausen , Mopelia and Scilly . During

4880-529: The FMS reported that the system had developed into a Category 1 tropical cyclone and named it Pam. After it was named, the system continued to slowly drift towards the south-southeast, before it started to move quicker later that day as it passed near the Cook Island of Suwarrow . As the system passed near Suwarrow, the NPMOC reported that Pam had reached its peak intensity with 1-minute sustained wind speeds of 120 km/h (75 mph), which made it equivalent to

5002-433: The FMS started to monitor a tropical depression that had developed about 465 km (290 mi) to the northeast of Manihiki Island. Over the next two days, the depression gradually developed further. At 1200 UTC on November 23, the NPMOC reported that the depression had become equivalent to a tropical storm and assigned it the designation 06P, before 12 hours later the FMS named the system Osea, as it had developed into

1997–98 South Pacific cyclone season - Misplaced Pages Continue

5124-648: The JTWC estimated that the system had peaked with 1-minute sustained winds of 130 km/h (80 mph), which made it equivalent to a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale . At around the same time, the FMS passed the primary warning responsibility for Nute to the BoM, after it had moved into the Australian region , where it dissipated to the west of New Caledonia on November 21, after encountering dry air and increased vertical wind shear. On November 22,

5246-472: The JTWC initiated advisories on the depression and designated it as Tropical Cyclone 02P. The FMS subsequently named the depression Lusi during the next day, as the system had intensified into the earliest tropical cyclone since 1970, while located about 1020 km (635 mi) to the northwest of Port Vila, Vanuatu. Over the next few days, Lusi moved towards the south-southeast, taking a so-called "gentleman's track" between Vanuatu and Fiji. During October 10,

5368-541: The JTWC reported that Lusi had peaked with 1-minute sustained wind speeds of 110 km/h (70 mph), while the system was located about 570 km (355 mi) to the northwest of Port Vila, Vanuatu. The FMS subsequently followed suit during the next day and estimated peak 10-minute sustained wind speeds of 100 km/h (65 mph) which made it a category 2 tropical cyclone. After it had peaked in intensity Lusi started to weaken in an area of cooler sea surface temperatures , while vertical wind shear increased because of

5490-406: The NPMOC issued their final advisory on the system. Over the next day as a mid level trough of low pressure that had been shearing the system moved faster than expected the depression became better organized. As a result, the NPMOC initiated advisories on the system again during April 24, while the FMS reported that Alan had re-intensified into a category 1 tropical cyclone later that day. The system

5612-425: The NPMOC issued their final warning on the system as it had become sheared. The FMS monitored Osea for another 24 hours, before the system degenerated into a depression during November 28. While it was active, Osea caused no deaths but was quite destructive to some of the northwestern Society Islands, with over 700 homes destroyed or severely damaged on Maupiti, Bora-Bora, and Raiatea . On Maupiti, an island with

5734-473: The NPMOC reported that the system had peaked with 1-minute sustained wind speeds of 140 km/h (85 mph). Veli peaked as a category 2 tropical cyclone early on February 2, with 10-minute sustained wind speeds of 100 km/h (65 mph). Over the next day, the cyclone moved through the Tuamotu group of islands, as it began to experience significant vertical windshear and weakened into a depression. The system

5856-469: The Northern Cook Islands . Over the next few days atmospheric convection surrounding the system remained disorganised, as the system moved to the southwest and was affected by strong upper-level north-easterly winds and moderate to strong vertical wind shear . Late on October 30, the NPMOC designated the disturbance as Tropical Cyclone 04P, after it had developed into a tropical depression. During

5978-472: The Samoan Islands, a new tropical depression developed to the northeast of Tahiti in French Polynesia during January 29. Over the next day the system subsequently moved south-eastwards and gradually developed further, before it was declared to be a Category 1 tropical cyclone and named Ursula by the FMS. Ursula subsequently gradually intensified and accelerated towards the south-east, as it got caught up in

6100-489: The Solomon Islands, killing two people and causing $ 8.66 million (1998 USD) in damages. On January 25, both the FMS and the NPMOC reported that Tropical Depression 16P, had developed about 360 km (225 mi) to the northwest of Apia, Samoa . During that day, as the depression moved towards the southeast it gradually intensified further before at 2100 UTC, the FMS reported that the depression had intensified into

6222-421: The South Pacific Convergence Zone, including the precursor system to Severe Tropical Cyclone Osea and Tropical Cyclone Pam. Osea was named Severe Tropical Cyclones Ron and Susan were both the strongest tropical cyclones of the season and were thought to be the strongest tropical cyclones in the region since Severe Tropical Cyclone Hina of the 1984–85 season . After the final warnings on Cyclone Tui were issued

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6344-641: The South Pacific Ocean until Cyclone Zoe in 2002–03 . After the season ended, 11  names had their names either removed or retired from the lists of names, after they caused significant impacts to South Pacific islands. During the season, tropical cyclones were officially monitored by the Fiji Meteorological Service (FMS), New Zealand Met Service and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology . The United States Armed Forces through

6466-467: The Southern Cook Islands has been dated to around AD 1000. Oral tradition tells that Rarotonga was settled by various groups, including Ata-i-te-kura, Apopo-te-akatinatina and Apopo-te-ivi-roa in the ninth century, and Tangi'ia Nui from Tahiti and Karika from Samoa in 1250. An early ariki , Toi, is said to have built Te Ara Nui o Toi or Ara Metua , a paved road that encircles the island, though

6588-633: The World Meteorological Organization. During the 1980s there were three major Southern Oscillation episodes; two El Niño's (1982–83 and 1986/87) when the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) was negative and one La Nina when the SOI was positive. During the 2000s, activity was generally below the long term average, with 60 tropical cyclones developing out of 160 tropical disturbances and tropical depressions. However activity during

6710-405: The ancient marae , Arai te Tonga. Popular island activities include snorkeling , scuba diving , bike riding, kite surfing, hiking, deep-sea fishing, boat tours, scenic flights, going to restaurants, dancing, seeing island shows, squash , tennis, zipping around on mopeds, and sleeping on the beach. There are many churches open for service on Sunday, with a cappella singing. People congregate at

6832-677: The beginnings of large-scale migration to New Zealand. Emigration increased further in the early 1970's when the airport was upgraded, but this was balanced by immigration from elsewhere in the Cook Islands. Flooding in April and May 1967 damaged bridges on the island and caused widespread crop losses, raising risks of a food shortage. An unnamed tropical cyclone in December of that year left hundreds homeless and caused widespread devastation after demolishing homes and offices in Avarua. In December 1976 80% of

6954-495: The build-up to and during World War II , meteorological operations in the Pacific were greatly expanded, to meet the needs of international aviation and military operations. As a result, J W Hutchings decided to write a paper on 43 tropical cyclones between 1940 and 1951, using data that had been collected from the tropics by the New Zealand Meteorological Service in the area between the 150°E and 150°W. In

7076-417: The centre was relocated late on February 13 to a position about 185 km (115 mi) to the south-southeast of Nassau Island. Over the next few days the depression remained in the same general area before the final advisory was issued on February 15. On February 28, the FMS reported that two tropical depressions had developed within the basin. The first depression developed about 555 km (345 mi) to

7198-448: The combined systems were then monitored for another day until they were last noted at 1200 UTC on January 10, bringing an unseasonable cold snap to New Zealand . The total damage from Susan was minor. High seas in accordance with Susan inundated the village of Talaulia on Kadavu, Fiji. There was also some destroyed waterfront buildings, roads, jetties and bridges on Kadavu. On Beqa Island, only high seas and swells were experienced. In

7320-525: The development of two tropical cyclones to the east of the International Date Line on either side of the equator . On December 5, both the FMS and the NPMOC started to monitor the system as a tropical depression, while it was located between the Samoan and Northern Cook Islands. During the day, the system slowly developed and organized further while moving toward the south-east. Early on December 6,

7442-466: The disturbance. During that day, the system was steered westwards towards Vanuatu , within an area of warm sea surface temperatures and weakening vertical windshear, by an upper-level ridge of high pressure located to the south of the system. The Fiji Meteorological Service subsequently classified the disturbance as a tropical depression, while the JTWC designated it as Tropical Cyclone 31P during March 30. The system subsequently continued to develop during

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7564-609: The east of the Tongan island of Niuafo'ou . On January 7, the system started to weaken as it accelerated towards colder waters, passing between the main Tongan islands and Niue. The next day it moved below 25S and left the tropics, before Ron was last noted being absorbed by Susan on January 9. Ron affected several island throughout its path, triggering several governmental and organizational assistance programs. Swains Island sustained severe impacts to structures from winds of up to 145 km/h (90 mph), and its residents took shelter in

7686-579: The eastern and southern side and Puaikura on the western side. For administrative purposes it is divided into five Land Districts. The Land District of Avarua is represented under vaka Te Au O Tonga, the Land Districts of Matavera , Ngatangiia and Titikaveka are represented under vaka Takitumu and the Land District Arorangi is represented under vaka Puaikura. The districts are subdivided into 54 tapere (traditional sub-districts). In 2008,

7808-431: The final days of the season and caused ten deaths and minor damage to French Polynesia, before it dissipated during May 3. After the season had ended the names Alan, Katrina, Martin, Nute, Osea, Ron, Susan, Tui, Ursula, Veli, Yali and Zuman were either retired or removed from the list of names for the region, while the names Lusi , Pam and Bart were reused during the 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2016-17 seasons. On October 4,

7930-407: The influence of a mid level trough of low pressure and started to move towards the southeast. Later that day the NPMOC started to issue warnings on the system and designated it as Tropical Cyclone 18P, after it had continued to organize and convection surrounding the system had increased. During that day Veli continued to move towards the southeast while gradually intensifying, before early the next day

8052-454: The island consists of densely forested hills cut by deep valleys, the eroded remnants of the original volcanic cone. The hills are drained by a number of radial streams, including the Avatiu Stream and Takuvaine Stream. Te Manga , at 658 m (2,140 ft) above sea level, is the highest peak on the island. Ikurangi , a smaller peak, overlooks the capital. The hills are surrounded by

8174-568: The island in 1789 on HMS  Bounty but did not land. Captain Theodore Walker sighted the island in 1813 on the ship Endeavour . The first recorded landing by a European was Captain Philip Goodenough with William Wentworth in 1814 on the schooner Cumberland . On 25 July 1823, while transporting the missionary Reverend John Williams , the Endeavour returned to Rarotonga. Papeiha ,

8296-717: The island remains largely unpopulated due to forbidding terrain and lack of infrastructure. A tract of 155 ha of land has been set aside in the south-east as the Takitumu Conservation Area to protect native birds and plants, especially the Vulnerable kakerori or Rarotonga monarch. Other threatened birds in the conservation area include the Rarotonga fruit dove and Rarotonga starling . The site has been recognised as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International . The earliest evidence of human presence in

8418-400: The island's banana crop was destroyed by tropical cyclone Kim . In January 1987 Tropical Cyclone Sally made a thousand people homeless and damaged 80% of the buildings in Avarua. The population of Rarotonga was 13007 in 2016. The island is traditionally divided into three tribal districts or vaka . Te Au O Tonga on the northern side of the island ( Avarua is the capital), Takitumu on

8540-549: The islands around 750 houses were destroyed with 430 and 150 of these occurring on Huahine and Ra'iātea respectively. During April 27, a tropical disturbance developed within the South Pacific Convergence Zone, near the French Polynesian atolls of Takaroa , Hao and Puka-Puka . The system subsequently moved eastwards over the next couple of days and gradually developed further with automatic weather stations reporting strong winds and significant pressure drops. The depression

8662-460: The islands. Large crop losses and some infrastructure damage were reported in American Samoa and Western Samoa after gale-force wind gusts, heavy rain and rough seas brought down power lines, trees and other debris. On the Western Samoan island of Savai'i, a young boy was killed when he stepped into an electrified puddle of water. Just after Tropical Cyclone Tui had weakened into a depression near

8784-525: The most sacred shrine in Rarotonga. Due to the mountainous interior, there is no road crossing the island. Rarotonga has only two bus routes: clockwise and anticlockwise. The clockwise bus runs from morning operating an hourly schedule until a last service at 11pm. The anti-clockwise route leaves Avarua on the half-hour, with the last service at 4.30 pm. Although there are bus stops, the buses pick up and set down anywhere en route. Rarotonga International Airport

8906-414: The next day and was named Zuman by the FMS after it had developed into a Category 1 tropical cyclone on the Australian tropical cyclone intensity scale . On April 17, the FMS started to monitor a tropical disturbance, that had developed to the east of the Northern Cook Islands . Over the next few days the system moved erratically, before it developed into a Category 1 tropical cyclone and was named Alan by

9028-507: The next day the system started to show a marked improvement in organisation and began rapidly developing, before the FMS named it Martin at 1500 UTC after it had developed into a category 1 tropical cyclone. When it was named, Martin was located about 500 km (310 mi) to the west of Manihiki Atoll in the Northern Cook Islands and had started to re-curve and move towards the south-east during that day. Early on November 1,

9150-500: The next day, Martin passed near the Society Islands as it developed an 17 km (10 mi) eye, before the FMS reported at 06:00 UTC that the system had peaked as a category 3 severe tropical cyclone with 10-minute sustained wind speeds of 155 km/h (100 mph). The NPMOC also reported at around that time that Martin had peaked with 1-minute sustained windspeeds of 185 km/h (115 mph), which made it equivalent to

9272-551: The next few days, before being classified as a tropical depression by FMS during January 1, 1998, and JTWC designating it as Tropical Cyclone 10P with 1-minute wind speeds of 65 km/h (40 mph). During the next day, the FMS reported that the system had developed into a Category 1 Tropical Cyclone and named it Ron. The system was steered south-westwards by a high-pressure area and gradually organized as its outflow improved, reaching Category 3 Severe Tropical Cyclone status during January 3, as it passed about 20 km (10 mi) to

9394-480: The north of Pitcairn Island on May 3. Ten deaths were associated with Bart after waves from the system capsized a boat, while any damage within French Polynesia if any was minimal. On February 11, a tropical depression developed about 185 km (115 mi) to the northwest of the Northern Cook Island: Suwarrow Atoll. Over the next couple of days the depression moved westwards slowly before

9516-405: The north of Swains Island . Ron continued to intensify and developed an eye, with FMS reporting that it had become a Category 5 Severe Tropical Cyclone at 00:00 UTC on January 5. FMS subsequently reported that the system peaked six hours later with estimated 10-minute sustained wind-speeds of 145 mph (235 km/h) and an estimated minimum pressure of 900 hPa (26.6 inHg), as it

9638-522: The north side of Bora Bora, nearly everything was destroyed, including the village of Vaitape . In Vaitape, roads were blocked and telecommunication lines were hampered. Seven people on the island were injured. Overall, 700 homes were at least somewhat destroyed by Osea. Throughout French Polynesia, banana trees were knocked down due to the strong winds. At the end of November, an equatorial westerly wind burst occurred about 2000 km (1245 mi) south-west of Hawaii . This wind burst led to

9760-428: The north-northwest of Port Vila . Over the next day the system moved towards the west-southwest between Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands under the influence of the subtropical ridge of high pressure to the south of the system. The FMS subsequently reported late on March 19, that the system had developed into a category 1 tropical cyclone and named it Yali. After it was named Yali re-curved and started moving towards

9882-470: The northwest the French Polynesian island of Tahiti, before the final warning was issued during the next day after no development had occurred. The second depression developed about 500 km (310 mi) to the southeast of Honiara on the Solomon island of Guadalcanal, over the next couple of days the depression drifted towards the southeast, before the final warning was issued on March 2. This table lists all

10004-429: The official start of the season on November 1, 1997. Severe Tropical Cyclone Martin impacted the Cook Islands and French Polynesia, where it caused significant damage and 28 deaths during the opening days of the season. Tropical Cyclone Nute was named on November 18, before it moved out of the basin as a Category 2 tropical cyclone during November 19. During the rest of November, several tropical disturbances developed along

10126-489: The paper, systems were only included if they had a wind speed on the Beaufort scale of Force 9 or above (corresponding to a medium Category 1 on the Australian cyclone scale), while located between the Equator and 30°S. Hutchings also examined where tropical cyclones originated from in the South Pacific and claimed that the place where most tropical cyclones develop could be accurately determined. The paper also drew attention to

10248-485: The port is too small for cruise ships to enter and they are required to anchor off shore outside the harbour. The island is encircled by a main road, Ara Tapu, that traces the coast. Three-quarters of Rarotonga is also encircled by the ancient inner road, Ara Metua. Approximately 29 km long, this road was constructed in 11th century and for most or all of its whole length was paved with large stone slabs. Along this road are several important marae, including Arai Te Tonga,

10370-628: The remnants of Katrina moved westward over Cape York Peninsula and the Gulf of Carpentaria, before regenerating into Cyclone Victor on February 8, after which the system moved through the Northern Territory and into the Indian Ocean, over the course of the next week. Upon reaching the Indian Ocean on 16 February, the system was named "Cindy" by Mauritius, before eventually dissipating on 19 February. Cyclone Katrina impacted parts of Queensland, Vanuatu, and

10492-555: The remnants were last noted on February 5, while they were located around 4350 km (2705 mi) to the southwest of Lima, Peru . In association with Tropical Cyclone Veli, Ursula brought significant waves which caused minor damages to three Tuamotuan islands of Mataiva, Rangiroa, Makatea. Mataiva was the worst hit island with 39 homes damaged, while roads and bridges were washed away. On Makatea island five houses were damaged while operations at Rangiroa's airstrip were disrupted, after coral and sand washed up onshore. During January 30,

10614-452: The sale of land to Europeans, though they were allowed to rent land on an annual basis. Despite a further ban on foreign settlement in 1848, European traders began to settle. In 1865, driven by rumours that France planned to annex the islands, the ariki of Rarotonga unsuccessfully petitioned Governor George Grey of New Zealand for British protection. In 1883 the Royal navy de facto recognised

10736-426: The sea wall that skirts the end of the airport's runway to be "jetblasted" by aircraft. Rarotonga has three harbours, Avatiu , Avarua and Avana, of which only Avatiu harbour is of commercial significance. The Port of Avatiu serves a small fleet of inter-island and fishing vessels, with cargo ships regularly visiting from New Zealand via other Pacific Islands ports. Large cruise ships regularly visit Rarotonga but

10858-424: The season had officially ended on April 30. During the season 50 people died as a result of tropical cyclones, with the deadliest being Cyclone Martin with 27 known deaths. The strongest tropical cyclones during the season were Cyclone Ron and Cyclone Susan as both were estimated to have minimum pressures of 900 hectopascals (26.6  inHg ), and were the most intense tropical cyclones on record in

10980-602: The season officially starting on November 1, the Governor of American Samoa reported that traditionalists were forecasting a hurricane to affect American Samoa , during the season after the big breadfruit and mango harvest that the island nation had experienced. The Cook Islands Meteorological Service and National Disasters Committee warned islanders that they could expect the "worst cyclone season in years" and urged residents to get prepared. On November 27, New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), issued

11102-644: The sites adjacent to it are dated to 1530. Trading contact was maintained with the Austral Islands, Samoa and the Marquesas to import basalt that was used for making local adze heads, while a pottery fragment found on Ma'uke has been traced to Tongatapu to the west, the main island of Tonga. The ultimate origin of almost all the islanders’ settlement cargo can be traced back to Southeast Asia: not just their chickens, Pacific rats, Polynesian pigs, Pacific dogs and crops, but also several kinds of lizards and snails. Among

11224-508: The south of Samoa, before early on January 27 both the NPMOC and the FMS, reported that Tui had weakened into a depression and issued their final advisories. After Tui was downgraded to a depression, a weak circulation remained in the vicinity of the Samoan islands for several days, before it possibly redeveloped into Tropical Cyclone Wes . Ahead of Tui affecting the Samoan islands, Polynesian Airlines and Samoa Air cancelled all of their flights to

11346-468: The south of the Cook Island: Nassau . During February 3, the FMS reported that the system had peaked, with 10-minute sustained wind speeds of 85 km/h (50 mph) which made it a category 2 tropical cyclone on the Australian scale. Later that day the system subsequently started to rapidly weaken as it moved into an area of higher vertical wind shear and interacted with the westerlies. The system

11468-421: The south-southeast, as the monsoonal flow to the north of the system strengthened. During March 29, the JTWC issued a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert , on a tropical disturbance that they had been monitoring for around a day to the northwest of Fiji . At this stage, atmospheric convection had started to persist over the systems low level circulation center, while an upper-level anticyclone had developed over

11590-423: The southern Pacific Ocean since prehistoric times, with Polynesians and other ancient mariners having some knowledge of them. These mariners were keen observers of nature with their knowledge of these systems, reflected by traditional myths and legends. When Europeans started to settle and colonise the South Pacific, they realised that the region was not free of hurricanes and were the first to publish accounts about

11712-548: The species that are understood to have reached Rarotonga by this means are at least two species of geckos and three of skinks. Likewise, the ultimate origin of almost 30 of their crops lies in the west. According to New Zealand Māori tradition, Kupe , the discoverer of Aotearoa , visited Rarotonga, and the Māori migration canoes Tākitimu , Te Arawa , Tainui , Mātaatua , Tokomaru , Aotea , and Kurahaupō passed through on their way to Aotearoa. Fletcher Christian visited

11834-568: The storms that developed in the South Pacific basin during the 1997–98 season. It includes their intensity on the Australian Tropical cyclone intensity scale , duration, name, areas affected, deaths, and damages. The data for this table is mainly taken from the Fiji Meteorological Service, however, the data for 03P has been taken from the JTWC. South Pacific tropical cyclone season Tropical cyclones have occurred over

11956-538: The storms were published, before E. Knipping consolidated some of these reports and extended Dobson's list out to 120 tropical cyclones during 1893. During the 1920s Stephen Sargent Visher did some research into tropical cyclones in the Pacific and visited several island nations, including Fiji , Japan and the Philippines , to obtain information on potential systems. He also consulted various journals and reports as well as Dobson's and Knipping's work, before he authored

12078-548: The strongest tropical cyclone on record in Tonga, as it passed near Niuafo'ou at peak intensity, reporting sustained winds of 110 km/h (70 mph), with peaks at between 125–145 km/h (80–90 mph). According to damage assessment, the cyclone left several families without home and dozens in need of tarpaulins to repair damages, most of them in the Niuafo'ou island. The system also damaged water and sanitation systems, leading to

12200-424: The system apart, with visible imagery showing that the system had a fully exposed low level circulation. As a result, the FMS reported that the system had weakened into a depression later that day, while it was located about 185 km (115 mi) to the west-northwest of Tahiti. The NPMOC subsequently reissued their final advisory early the next day, as the system drifted towards the south-southeast while located to

12322-490: The system had degenerated into a depression. Over the next few days the system continued to move southeastwards, before it was last noted during December 14, while located to the west of Chile. On December 20, the FMS started to monitor a weak tropical disturbance that was located about 915 km (570 mi) to the northwest of Pago-Pago in American Samoa . Over the next two weeks, the disturbance gradually moved towards

12444-407: The system was. Later that day the NPMOC started to issue warnings on Alan and estimated peak 1-minute sustained wind speeds of 85 km/h (50 mph). During April 23, the system appeared to become sheared with the low level circulation centre displaced about 20 km (10 mi) from the nearest atmospheric convection. As a result, the FMS reported that Alan had weakened into a depression, while

12566-465: The system weakened below tropical cyclone intensity as it moved into Met Services's area of responsibility, before it was last noted on November 8. On November 18, the FMS reported that a tropical depression had developed within the South Pacific Convergence Zone, about 100 km (60 mi) to the south-southwest of the Santa Cruz Islands in the Solomon Islands. During that day, the depression

12688-416: The systems. During 1853, Thomas Dobson subsequently became the first person to collect information about these systems, in order to attempt to understand and explain the characteristics of 24 tropical cyclones. However, these descriptions were vague and of little value, because he only had a small amount of data and no synoptic weather charts. Over the next 40 years various reports, journals and logbooks on

12810-553: The three vaka councils of Rarotonga were abolished. Palm-studded white sandy beaches fringe most of the island, and there is a popular cross-island walk that connects Avatiu valley with the south side of the island. It passes the Te Rua Manga, the prominent needle-shaped rock visible from the air and some coastal areas. Hikes can also be taken to the Raemaru, or flat-top mountain. Other attractions include Wigmore Falls (Papua Falls) and

12932-491: The town of Lautoka, on Viti Levu , roofs were blown off shops. This damage was possibly caused by a tornado that formed from one of the outer rain bands. One death was reported in accordance with Susan. This death was on Ambrym Island in Vanuatu , where a woman was killed by a falling coconut palm tree. On late December 1997, an area of low pressure developed to the northwest of the Cook Islands , gradually developing further over

13054-546: The west of Tahiti. The system affected French Polynesia with high winds and torrential rain, which caused several landslides within the Society Islands. The landslides caused two bridges to collapse and along with fallen trees blocked roads. Overall ten people died as a result of the system while thirty others were injured, with the majority of the casualties occurring due to landslides. On the islands of Ra'iātea, Tahaa and Huahine several churches, schools and clinics were damaged while water and electricity supplies were cut off. Within

13176-497: The west of the Fijian dependency of Rotuma . During that day, as the system moved south-westwards a central dense overcast became apparent in satellite imagery, before the JTWC initiated advisories and designated the system as Tropical Cyclone 03P. Within their first advisory, the JTWC noted that atmospheric convection associated with the system had fluctuated considerably over the last few days and that moderate to strong upper-level winds

13298-495: The west-southwest, without developing into a tropical cyclone. On January 3, the JTWC initiated warnings on the system and designated it as Tropical Cyclone 11P. Later that day, the FMS named the system Susan as the system had become a Category 1 tropical cyclone, while it was located near the Fiji dependency of Rotuma . During the day, the system continued to rapidly intensify with the FMS reporting early on January 4 that Susan had become

13420-485: The wide variety of tracks that occur over the Pacific . At the start of the 1980s, geostationary satellite imagery became available, which allowed meteorologists to closely monitor any developments and lowered the chances of missing a well developed tropical cyclone to nil. During June 1995, the Fiji Meteorological Service's Nadi — Tropical Cyclone Centre, was designated as a Regional Specialized Meteorological Center by

13542-477: Was at its peak 1-minute sustained windspeeds of 65 km/h (40 mph). However, by this time Bart had started to weaken, before on May 1, satellite imagery showed that the systems, low level centre had become exposed as the main area of convection had become sheared. Despite gale-force wind speeds occurring in Bart's southern semicircle, the system weakened into a tropical depression during May 1, before it dissipated to

13664-490: Was creating significant vertical windshear over the system. As a result, they estimated that the system had peaked with 1-minute sustained winds of 65 km/h (40 mph), despite estimates of 85 km/h (50 mph) being reached via the Dvorak Technique . Over the next day, the systems original low level circulation center slowly weakened and became indistinguishable from the surrounding atmospheric convection, before

13786-527: Was followed 3 hours later by the FMS who reported that the system had developed into a Category 1 tropical cyclone and named it Nute, while it was located about 835 km (520 mi) to the north-west of Port Vila in Vanuatu. Over the next day, the newly named system continued to intensify and developed an eye feature, before the FMS reported that Nute had peaked as a Category 2 tropical cyclone with 10-minute sustained wind speeds of 110 km/h (70 mph) at around 0600 UTC on November 19. Later that day,

13908-541: Was forecast to have an average risk of being affected by a tropical cyclone. NIWA also reported that Cyclone Martin's impact on the Northern Cook Islands was an early sign of what could be expected during the season, because the system had occurred further east than normal. In mid December the Cook Islands Meteorological Service director commented to the media that from now on, by the time cyclones reached Rarotonga would have lost their intensity, while

14030-484: Was located between 160°E and the 180° while the NPMOC issued warnings for tropical cyclones forming between 180° and the American coast. The FMS and MetService estimated sustained wind speeds over a 10-minute and used the Australian tropical cyclone intensity scale , while the JTWC and the NPMOC estimated sustained wind speeds over a 1-minute period which are compared to the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale (SSHS). Ahead of

14152-487: Was located to the northeast of Wallis Island, while the JTWC reported that the system had peaked as a category 5 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale , with 1-minute sustained wind speeds of 165 mph (266 km/h). Ron maintained its peak intensity for several days, while recurving southeastwards and passing about 55 km (35 mi) to the east of Wallis Island and about 30 km (20 mi) to

14274-549: Was now located about 555 km (345 mi) to the west-northwest of the French Polynesian island of Tahiti , and was now moving towards the south-southeast under the influence of an upper level anticyclone located to the east of Alan. Early on April 25, Alan passed near too or over the French Polynesian Society Islands of Maupiti , Bora-Bora , and Raiatea . During April 25, strong wind shear pulled

14396-535: Was one of the most active and longest South Pacific tropical cyclone seasons on record, with 16  tropical cyclones occurring within the South Pacific basin between 160°E and 120°W . The season was characterised by a very strong El Niño Event , which caused the South Pacific Convergence Zone , to move from its usual position near the Solomon Islands to the Northern Cook Islands. As

14518-452: Was steered south-westwards by the subtropical ridge of high pressure and encountered an area of increasing upper-level divergence and favourable sea surface temperatures. Later that day at around 09:00 UTC, the JTWC initiated advisories on the system and designated it as Tropical Cyclone 05P, after satellite imagery showed that the depression had a well defined low-level circulation and atmospheric convection had become better organized. This

14640-420: Was subsequently last noted during February 5, while located about 400 km (250 mi) to the east of Papeete , on the island of Tahiti , French Polynesia . The system did not directly affect any inhabited islands, while there was no damage reported on Suwarrow from the system. However, 10 people were killed on the French Polynesian island of Tahaa , after two days of heavy rain associated with Wes caused

14762-652: Was subsequently monitored until it was last noted during February 4, about 1,500 km (930 mi) to the northwest of Adamstown on the Pitcairn Islands . In association with Tropical Cyclone Ursula, Veli brought significant waves to French Polynesia's Tuamotu province and caused minor damages on the islands of Mataiva, Rangiroa, Makatea. Mataiva was the worst hit island with roads and bridges washed away, and 39 homes damaged. On Makatea island five houses were damaged while operations at Rangiroa's airstrip were disrupted after coral and sand washed up onshore. On January 31,

14884-481: Was subsequently named Bart by the FMS during April 29, after it had developed into a category 1 tropical cyclone on the Australian scale near the island of Hao . The FMS reported during the next day that Bart had reached its peak 10-minute sustained windspeeds of 85 km/h (50 mph), as the system slowed down due to a blocking ridge of high pressure strengthening. The NPMOC subsequently initiated advisories on Bart and designated it as Tropical Cyclone 37P, while it

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