The 1973 Flores cyclone was the deadliest known tropical cyclone in the Southern Hemisphere, having killed 1,653 people in Indonesia in April 1973. The cyclone formed in the Banda Sea on 26 April as a tropical

low Low or LOW or lows, may refer to: People * Low (surname), listing people surnamed Low Places * Low, Quebec, Canada * Low, Utah, United States * Lo Wu station (MTR code LOW), Hong Kong; a rail station * Salzburg Airport (ICAO airport code: LO ...

. It intensified as it moved in a west-southwest direction, before shifting to the south. On 29 April, the cyclone struck the north coast of the island of

Flores Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, a group of islands in the eastern half of Indonesia. Including the Komodo Islands off its west coast (but excluding the Solor Archipelago to the east of Flores), the land area is 15,530.58 km2, and th ...

, dissipating the next day. The cyclone killed 1,500 fishermen on

Palu'e Palu'e Island (often referred to as ''Palu Island'') is located north of Flores Island in the Flores Sea. It is part of Lesser Sunda Islands. Palu'e island is under the administrative region of Sikka regency of East Nusa Tenggara province, Indo ...

island. The cyclone dropped heavy rainfall across Flores, causing deadly

flash flood A flash flood is a rapid flooding of low-lying areas: washes, rivers, dry lakes and depressions. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a severe thunderstorm, hurricane, or tropical storm, or by meltwater from ice or snow flowing o ...

ing that damaged buildings and roads.

Meteorological history

On 26 April, a tropical low formed in the Banda Sea in the waters of eastern Indonesia. According to Australia's Bureau of Meteorology BoM, the low moved to the west-southwest and intensified, although this was based on a later analysis. As the storm was outside of the agency's jurisdiction, the BoM did not issue warnings on the system at the time. The low attained gale-force winds late on 27 April as it moved into the Flores Sea. Late the next day, the storm turned southwestward. The BoM estimated that the storm reached peak intensity early on 29 April, assessing it as a Category 3 on the

Australian tropical cyclone intensity scale Tropical cyclones are ranked on one of five tropical cyclone intensity scales, according to their maximum sustained winds and which tropical cyclone basins they are located in. Only a few scales of classifications are used officially by the mete ...

, with maximum sustained winds of 150 km/h (90 mph). While near peak intensity, the small tropical cyclone had

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 ...

embedded within a central dense overcast, 295 km (185 mi) in diameter. The cyclone made landfall on the northern coast of the Indonesian island of

. After crossing the island, the cyclone dissipated on 30 April near Flores' southern coast.

Impact

In the Flores Sea, the cyclone capsized a 500-ton freighter ''O Arbiru'', based out of Portuguese Timor, which was delivering a rice shipment from Bangkok. Of the crew of 24 people, only one person survived. On

island alone, the cyclone killed 1,500 fishermen. News of the disaster in Flores took a month to reach authorities in the capital, Jakarta, due to lack of communications and the remoteness of the island. Across the region, the cyclone killed 1,653 people, making it the deadliest tropical cyclone recorded in the Southern Hemisphere. The storm lashed the coast with a

storm surge A storm surge, storm flood, tidal surge, or storm tide is a coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water commonly associated with low-pressure weather systems, such as cyclones. It is measured as the rise in water level above the n ...

, which newspapers described as a "tidal wave". In

Ngada Regency Ngada Regency is one of the regencies on the island of Flores, East Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia. It is bordered by East Manggarai Regency to the west and Nagekeo Regency to the east, with the Flores Sea to the north and the Sawu Sea to the ...

, high waves drowned 24 people. Another 10 people were killed in

Manggarai Regency Manggarai Regency is a regency in East Nusa Tenggara province of Indonesia, situated on the island of Flores. Established in 1958 the regency was reduced in size and population by the separation of Manggarai Barat regency in 2003 and of Manggarai ...

. For three days, the storm dropped heavy rainfall across Flores, which produced deadly

ing that washed away rice fields, livestock, and entire homes. The cyclone wrecked schools, homes, dams, and bridges. The storm also wrecked government buildings, with heavy damage reported in the regional capital of Ende. After the floods, the Indonesian government constructed the Sutami Weir, which was finished in 1975. The weir controlled the water flow on the island and helped irrigate of rice paddy fields.

References

External links

More information about the shipwreck
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flores 1972–73 Southern Hemisphere tropical cyclone season 1973 in Indonesia 1973 natural disasters Tropical cyclones in Indonesia Flores Island (Indonesia)

Meteorological history

Impact

See also

References

External links