The 2000 South Indian Cyclone (IMD designation: ''BOB 05'' JTWC designation: ''05B'') was the strongest, most intense

tropical cyclone A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

of the fairly-quiet

2000 North Indian Ocean cyclone season The 2000 North Indian Ocean cyclone season was fairly quiet compared to its predecessor, with all of the activity originating in the Bay of Bengal. The basin comprises the Indian Ocean north of the equator, with warnings issued by the India Met ...

. The fifth cyclone, and the fourth named storm, Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm BOB 05 started as an upper-level low over the Andaman Sea on November 24. On early November 26, the group of thunderstorms was classified as a depression by the IMD. The system slowly began to organize, and late on November 26 the JTWC named it as Tropical Cyclone 03B. By November 28, a 20 km (12 mi)-wide

eye Eyes are organs of the visual system. They provide living organisms with vision, the ability to receive and process visual detail, as well as enabling several photo response functions that are independent of vision. Eyes detect light and conv ...

was developing, prompting the JTWC to upgrade the storm to the equivalent of a minimal hurricane with winds of . By comparison, the IMD estimated peak winds of . Wind shear in the region prevented further strengthening, and the storm weakened slightly before making landfall on November 29 in eastern India near

Cuddalore Cuddalore, also spelt as Kadalur (), is the city and headquarters of the Cuddalore District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Situated south of Chennai, Cuddalore was an important port during the British Raj. While the early history of Cudda ...

. A station there recorded a pressure of . The storm rapidly weakened over land, and degenerated into a remnant low on November 30. The remnants emerged into the eastern Arabian Sea on December 1, by which time most thunderstorms had dissipated over the deteriorating center. Two days later, the JTWC reissued advisories, based on an increase in outflow and convective organization. This was short-lived, as the thunderstorms soon dwindled, and the JTWC ceased issuing advisories on December 5. The remnants continued westward without development toward eastern

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

. As many as 12 people died from the storm. The storm caused ₹700 million rupees (US$15 million) in damages.

Meteorological history

An upper-level low persisted over the Andaman Sea on November 24. By the next day, a circulation center was present about 370 km (230 mi) west of Thailand, although convection was dislocated to the west due to wind shear. After the thunderstorms concentrated over the center early on November 26, the IMD classified the system as a depression. A

ridge A ridge or a mountain ridge is a geographical feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for an extended distance. The sides of the ridge slope away from the narrow top on either side. The line ...

to the north steered the system generally westward. Outflow and convective organization gradually increased, and late on November 26 the JTWC classified it as Tropical Cyclone 03B. As the rainbands organized around the center, the winds increased; the IMD upgraded the system to a cyclonic storm on November 27, and to a severe and later a very severe cyclonic storm on November 28. By November 28, a 20 km (12 mi)-wide

, before they were last noted on December 6.

Impact

Tamil Nadu

Heavy rainfall, peaking at in Tholudur, spread across

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

. During the passage of the eye, residents reported a period of calm lasting about 45 minutes. The main loss was crop damage, uprooting of big trees, and damage to houses. About one thousan
Kutcha houses
and 14 brick houses were damaged due to strong winds. 10 people lost their lives due to wall/building collapse, and/or electrocution. In the whole state, the roofs of 1000 houses were blown off, 14 houses were washed away, and 300 houses were washed away. Sugarcane in 100 acres, 30.000 Plantain trees, and 50,000 plantain saplings were also destroyed. The winds also damaged about 41,000 houses, about 1,000 of which lost their roofs. Flooding washed away 14 brick buildings, while 300 others were inundated by the sea. Over 1,000 power lines were damaged. Overall, the cyclone caused damages of ₹700 million rupees (US$15 million) and 12 deaths.

Cuddalore

Over 30,000 trees were uprooted in the Cuddalore district, and 1,000+ electric poles were downed. Four transformers were also damaged. In the Cuddalore district alone, the damages was 20 Indian crores (US$2,702,136).

Pondicherry

Damages to paddy crops, plantains and coconut plantations were the major loss. About 40,000 Kutcha houses were partially damaged due to the strong winds, and 2 people lost their lives. The damage amounted to 50 Indian crores (US$6,801,865)

References