Severe Tropical Cyclone Gene was the deadliest storm as well as the most damaging tropical cyclone of the
2007–08 South Pacific cyclone season
The 2007–08 South Pacific cyclone season was one of the least active South Pacific tropical cyclone seasons on record, with only four tropical cyclones occurring within the South Pacific basin to the east of 160°E. The season officially ran f ...
east of 160ºE. RSMC Nadi monitored Gene as the 12th tropical disturbance, as well as the fourth tropical cyclone and the third severe tropical cyclone to form west of 160ºE during the
2007–08 South Pacific cyclone season
The 2007–08 South Pacific cyclone season was one of the least active South Pacific tropical cyclone seasons on record, with only four tropical cyclones occurring within the South Pacific basin to the east of 160°E. The season officially ran f ...
. Gene was also recognised by RSMC Nadi as the fifth
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 ...
and fourth severe tropical cyclone to form within the South Pacific Ocean during the 2007-08 season.
On January 25, a tropical disturbance formed within the
Fijian Archipelago and was designated as Tropical Disturbance 12F. The next day it was upgraded to a tropical depression, whilst on January 27, RSMC Nadi named the depression as Cyclone Gene. Later that day Gene made landfall on Fiji, and caused 8 deaths and $51 million (2008, F$). Cyclone Gene then slowly intensified to a category three cyclone on both the
Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale and the Australian Cyclone Intensity Scale. Gene then took a turn to the south moving towards 25°S which marks the edge of RSMC Nadi's area of responsibility with the
Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre
A Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre (RSMC) is responsible for the distribution of information, advisories, and warnings regarding the specific program they have a part of, agreed by consensus at the World Meteorological Organization as p ...
(TCWC) in
Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
, New Zealand. Gene then crossed 25°S on February 3 and Nadi released their final advisory. Cyclone Gene continued as a Tropical Cyclone for three days before becoming an
extratropical cyclone
Extratropical cyclones, sometimes called mid-latitude cyclones or wave cyclones, are low-pressure areas which, along with the anticyclones of high-pressure areas, drive the weather over much of the Earth. Extratropical cyclones are capable of ...
. Early on February 6 TCWC Wellington released their final advisory on tropical cyclone Gene as they declared it as extratropical.
Cyclone Gene caused widespread damage to several of Fiji's main islands, including Viti Levu, Vanua Levu, Taveuni, Yasawa, Mamanuca, and other outlying island groups, while killing a total of 8 people. The cyclone also caused severe damage to Vanautu's Futuna island after its outer bands lashed the island with gale force windspeeds and heavy rain for 12 hours.
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Meteorological history
During January 26, the
Fiji Meteorological Service
The Fiji Meteorological Service (FMS) is a Department of the government of Fiji responsible for providing weather forecasts and is based on the grounds of Nadi Airport in Nadi. The current director of Fiji Meteorological Service is Misaeli Funaki. ...
and the United States
Joint Typhoon Warning Center
The Joint typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) is a joint United States Navy – United States Air Force command in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The JTWC is responsible for the issuing of tropical cyclone warnings in the North-West Pacific Ocean, South P ...
started to monitor a weak tropical disturbance that had developed within the
monsoon trough
The monsoon trough is a portion of the Intertropical Convergence Zone in the Western Pacific,Bin WangThe Asian Monsoon.Retrieved 2008-05-03. as depicted by a line on a weather map showing the locations of minimum sea level pressure, and as such, ...
about to the northeast of the Fijian dependency of
Rotuma
Rotuma is a Fijian dependency, consisting of Rotuma Island and nearby islets. The island group is home to a large and unique Polynesian indigenous ethnic group which constitutes a recognisable minority within the population of Fiji, known as " ...
.
The disturbance initially moved towards the southeast before it recurved and started to move towards the southwest and Fiji during the next day, while gradually developing further in an area of low vertical windshear.
At 1800 UTC on January 27, the JTWC reported that the disturbance had developed into Tropical Cyclone 15P and started to issue warnings on it as the 1-minute windspeeds had become equivalent to a
tropical storm
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 ...
.
Over the next 6–12 hours, the disturbance moved towards the southwest and hugged
Vanua Levu
Vanua Levu (pronounced ), formerly known as Sandalwood Island, is the second largest island of Fiji. Located to the north of the larger Viti Levu, the island has an area of and a population of 135,961 .
Geology
Fiji lies in a tectonically ...
's southeastern coast, under the influence of a mid level ridge of high pressure that was located to the southeast of the system.
15P's development was hindered while it was located over land, however it did not weaken significantly because it was located in an area of favourable upper level conditions.
While over land the system moved towards the south-southwest and moved into the
Bligh Water In 1789 the English Royal Navy Cutter the Bounty commanded by Lieutenant William Bligh was overtaken by 18 crew led by Master's Mate Fletcher Christian in what has been named the "Mutiny on the Bounty." The area known as the Bligh Water is the body ...
s, where it started to rapidly intensify as convection erupted around the system.
As a result, before the system made landfall on Viti Levu, RSMC Nadi reported that the system had intensified into a category 1 tropical cyclone, on the
Australian cyclone intensity scale and named it Gene.
The system then made landfall shortly after 0600 UTC near
Lautoka
Lautoka () is the second largest Local government in Fiji, city in Fiji. It is on the west coast of the island of Viti Levu, in the Ba Province of the Western Division, Fiji, Western Division. Lying in the heart of Fiji's sugar cane-growing r ...
, before it started to move westwards and passed near Nadi before it moved out of the archipelago.
Early on January 29 as the system moved westwards, RSMC Nadi reported that Gene had intensified into a category two tropical cyclone before it briefly weakened into a Category 1 because of the effects of a moderate amount of vertical windshear.
However, the system quickly reintensified and by 1200 UTC the next day had become a category 3 Severe Tropical Cyclone and equivalent to a Category 1 tropical cyclone on the
Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale.
On January 31, while the storm was moving closer to Vanuatu, Gene attained peak winds of 150 km/h (95 mph
10 min) & 185 km/h (115 mph
1-min) Thus, Cyclone Gene was a Category 3 cyclone on the Australian scale and the
Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale.
During February 1, as Cyclone Gene was moving to the west, Gene recurved and started moving towards the south and missed Vanuatu.
The next day cyclone Gene started to temporarily weaken again by becoming a category two cyclone with winds speeds of 95 km/h (60 mph
10 min).
This came as cyclone Gene approached 25°S which marks the edge of RSMC Nadi's area of responsibility, to the south of 25°S the
Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre
A Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre (RSMC) is responsible for the distribution of information, advisories, and warnings regarding the specific program they have a part of, agreed by consensus at the World Meteorological Organization as p ...
(TCWC) in
Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
, New Zealand, monitors tropical cyclones, south of 25°S. As Gene crossed in to
TCWC Wellington's area of responsibility, Cyclone Gene started to re-intensify becoming a severe tropical cyclone again with peak winds of 120 km/h (105 mph
10 min) however this re-intensification only lasted for 12 hours before Gene began to weaken for the final time by becoming a tropical cyclone that day.
[ Gene slowly weakened over the next couple of days as it moved towards the south east.][ The JTWC then issued its final warning on February 6 as Cyclone Gene was finishing its extratropical transition, and had also become fully embedded within the ]baroclinic zone
A weather front is a boundary separating air masses for which several characteristics differ, such as air density, wind, temperature, and humidity. Disturbed and unstable weather due to these differences often arises along the boundary. For in ...
. TCWC Wellington continued to monitor the extratropical remnants of Gene until February 9, after the sustained windspeeds had dropped to below 65 km/h (40 mph).[
]
Effects
Fiji
On January 27, RSMC Nadi issued strong wind warnings for Fiji, as 12F was expected to affect Fiji but not develop into a tropical cyclone until it had moved out of the archipelago. However, as 12F rapidly developed into a tropical cyclone during that day, RSMC Nadi was forced to issue gale force wind warnings for various parts of Fiji including Vanua Levu
Vanua Levu (pronounced ), formerly known as Sandalwood Island, is the second largest island of Fiji. Located to the north of the larger Viti Levu, the island has an area of and a population of 135,961 .
Geology
Fiji lies in a tectonically ...
, Viti Levu
Viti Levu (pronounced ) is the largest island in the Republic of Fiji. It is the site of the nation's capital, Suva, and home to a large majority of Fiji's population.
Geology
Fiji lies in a tectonically complex area between the Australian P ...
, Beqa
Beqa (pronounced ) is an island in Fiji, an outlier to the main island of Viti Levu, to the south. The island has a land area of and reaches a maximum elevation of . Beqa has 9 villages broken into 2 Tikinas or Districts: Sawau and Raviravi.
...
, Vatulele
Vatulele (pronounced ) is a coral and volcanic island south of Viti Levu, Fiji's largest island. Situated at 18.50° South and 177.63° East, Vatulele has an area of . Its maximum altitude is only .
The island is inhabited by four villages, in ...
, Lomaiviti, Yasawa
Yasawa, also called Assawa and Ysava, is the northernmost large island of the Yasawa Group, an archipelago in Fiji's Western Division. Located at 17.00° South and 177.23° East, it covers an area of . It has a maximum altitude of above sea l ...
and Mamanuca
The Mamanuca Islands () of Fiji are a volcanic archipelago lying to the west of Nadi and to the south of the Yasawa Islands. The group, a popular tourist destination, consists of about 20 islands, but about seven of these are covered by the ...
.
When Cyclone Gene hit Fiji, it caused widespread minor damage on both of the main islands of Fiji including Vanua Levu
Vanua Levu (pronounced ), formerly known as Sandalwood Island, is the second largest island of Fiji. Located to the north of the larger Viti Levu, the island has an area of and a population of 135,961 .
Geology
Fiji lies in a tectonically ...
and Viti Levu
Viti Levu (pronounced ) is the largest island in the Republic of Fiji. It is the site of the nation's capital, Suva, and home to a large majority of Fiji's population.
Geology
Fiji lies in a tectonically complex area between the Australian P ...
as well as a few of the other minor islands in Fiji which included Taveuni
Taveuni (pronounced ) is the third-largest island in Fiji, after Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, with a total land area of . The cigar-shaped island, a massive shield volcano which rises from the floor of the Pacific Ocean, is situated to the east of ...
& the Yasawa
Yasawa, also called Assawa and Ysava, is the northernmost large island of the Yasawa Group, an archipelago in Fiji's Western Division. Located at 17.00° South and 177.23° East, it covers an area of . It has a maximum altitude of above sea l ...
group of islands. Power cuts were reported in at least half of Fiji
Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...
including Suva
Suva () is the capital and largest city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rewa Province, Central Divi ...
and Nadi
Nadi (pronounced ) is the third-largest conurbation in Fiji. It is located on the western side of the main island of Viti Levu, and had a population of 42,284 at the most recent census, in 2007. A 2012 estimate showed that the population had ...
however power was quickly restored to these areas. Within Fiji over 340 people evacuated to 61 evacuation centres which were opened by the Fiji
Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...
an government. There was also 61 houses completely flattened by cyclone Gene.
The effects of Cyclone Gene were compounded by continuous heavy rainfall and subsequent floods in most parts of Viti Levu. As a result, there was significant disruption to water supplies, with several sources becoming contaminated and destroyed as a result there were several cases of Typhoid reported in Fiji with at least 1 person dying from typhoid
Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...
. There was also seven other deaths from cyclone Gene, five of these were directly related whilst two people were also killed as an indirect result of Cyclone Gene from house fires while using candles to light their homes when the power went out. Within their end of season report RSMC Nadi reported that the total cost of Cyclone Gene was F$51 million (2008), ($35 million 2008 USD
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
).
Vanuatu
After exiting the Fijian archipelago of islands, Cyclone Gene moved towards the west across the South Pacific, towards Vanuatu
Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...
, and was predicted to affect the archipelago between January 31 and February 2. However, during January 31, the system started to re-curve towards the southeast and as a result did not make landfall on the island, but Gene's outer bands produced gale force winds and heavy rain on various southern Vanuatuan islands for about 12 hours. However the system only caused no deaths and severe damage to Futuna island, while sparing other nearby islands. On Futuna Island, Gene caused damages to buildings, Plants used for weaving and generating income, trails, native and non native homes, waterlines, food gardens, food producing plants, crops, and other critical structures and littered footpaths with fallen trees and debris. As a result of damages to waterlines from falling debris, flooding and contaminated drinking water were reported in some villages with pipes openly leaking. After an aerial survey found that more than 70% of garden crops had been damaged by Gene, the Vanuatu Government declared Futuna island a disaster zone.
See also
* Cyclone Guba
Severe Tropical Cyclone Guba was the most recent tropical cyclone to form in the Port Moresby area of responsibility. The storm resulted in 149 fatalities and severe damage across southeastern Papua New Guinea in November 2007. The firstly-named c ...
* 2007–08 South Pacific cyclone season
The 2007–08 South Pacific cyclone season was one of the least active South Pacific tropical cyclone seasons on record, with only four tropical cyclones occurring within the South Pacific basin to the east of 160°E. The season officially ran f ...
* Timeline of the 2007–08 South Pacific cyclone season
The 2007–08 South Pacific cyclone season was a below-average season with only four tropical cyclones, forming within the South Pacific to the east of 160°E.An average season has nine tropical cyclones, about half of which become severe tropic ...
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gene
2007–08 South Pacific cyclone season
Tropical cyclones in Fiji
2008 in Fiji
Retired South Pacific cyclones
Category 3 South Pacific cyclones
Gene
In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a ba ...