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Tropical Cyclone Haruna was a deadly storm that produced widespread flooding and a disease outbreak in southwestern
Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...
. The ninth system of the
season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...
, Haruna developed in the
Mozambique channel The Mozambique Channel (french: Canal du Mozambique, mg, Lakandranon'i Mozambika, pt, Canal de Moçambique) is an arm of the Indian Ocean located between the Southeast African countries of Madagascar and Mozambique. The channel is about long ...
in the middle of February 2013 between
Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
and southwestern Madagascar. Initially moving northward over Mozambique, the disturbance later moved slowly southward, gradually strengthening into the eighth named storm of the season and later into an intense tropical cyclone. The
Météo-France Météo-France is the French national meteorological service. Organisation The organisation was established by decree in June 1993 and is a department of the Ministry of Transportation. It is headquartered in Paris but many domestic operatio ...
office in
Réunion Réunion (; french: La Réunion, ; previously ''Île Bourbon''; rcf, label= Reunionese Creole, La Rényon) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas department and region of France. It is located approximately east of the island ...
(MFR) – the official Regional Specialized Meteorological Center in the basin – estimated the cyclone attained peak 10 minute sustained winds of . Haruna made landfall near
Morombe Morombe is an urban municipality (commune urbaine) on the south-west coast in Atsimo-Andrefana, Madagascar. It can be reached by the National road 55 or pirogue from Morondava. It is situated at 283 km from Tulear. An airport serves the town. ...
in southwestern Madagascar on February 22. It weakened significantly while crossing the country, and MFR discontinued advisories on February 24 after the storm had emerged into the Indian Ocean. Before Haruna struck Madagascar, a pre-existing system produced deadly flooding, and when the cyclone crossed the country, it added additional rainfall to the region. Flooding was worst in
Toliara Toliara (also known as ''Toliary'', ; formerly ''Tuléar'') is a city in Madagascar. It is the capital of the Atsimo-Andrefana region, located 936 km southwest of national capital Antananarivo. The current spelling of the name was adopted ...
where a dyke burst, flooding much of the town and leaving residents without water or power. Many villages in southwestern Madagascar lost access to clean water, prompting various international agencies to deploy teams to decontaminate wells. Haruna destroyed 7,402 houses, which left 13,882 people homeless. Most of the displaced people were able to leave their shelters by early April. The cyclone damaged rice and maize crops along the coast, although there were extended residual effects when a locust outbreak occurred, affecting half of Madagascar's farmlands by July 2013. Throughout Madagascar, Haruna killed 26 people and injured 127 directly, and there were outbreaks of various diseases in the storm's aftermath.


Meteorological history

In the middle of February, an area of
convection Convection is single or multiphase fluid flow that occurs spontaneously due to the combined effects of material property heterogeneity and body forces on a fluid, most commonly density and gravity (see buoyancy). When the cause of the convec ...
, or
thunderstorm A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are someti ...
s, persisted in the
Mozambique channel The Mozambique Channel (french: Canal du Mozambique, mg, Lakandranon'i Mozambika, pt, Canal de Moçambique) is an arm of the Indian Ocean located between the Southeast African countries of Madagascar and Mozambique. The channel is about long ...
. It had an associated circulation and
rainband A rainband is a cloud and precipitation structure associated with an area of rainfall which is significantly elongated. Rainbands can be stratiform or convective, and are generated by differences in temperature. When noted on weather radar ima ...
s to the east of the center, and was related to the monsoon trough. The system was located within an area of warm
sea surface temperature Sea surface temperature (SST), or ocean surface temperature, is the ocean temperature close to the surface. The exact meaning of ''surface'' varies according to the measurement method used, but it is between and below the sea surface. Air mass ...
s of over and steadily decreasing wind shear. 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 south caused the system to initially track to the north. By February 16, the system had moved over Mozambique and turned to the east, although by that time it had become better organized with the convection wrapping into the center. Subsequently, the system moved southward due to a weakness in the ridge, with conditions favorable for tropical cyclogenesis such as low wind shear and good
divergence In vector calculus, divergence is a vector operator that operates on a vector field, producing a scalar field giving the quantity of the vector field's source at each point. More technically, the divergence represents the volume density of the ...
. On February 18, the
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 ...
(JTWC) issued a
Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert A Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert (TCFA) is a bulletin released by the U.S. Navy-operated Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Honolulu, Hawaii or the Fleet Weather Center in Norfolk, Virginia, warning of the possibility of a tropical cyclone forming ...
, and at 1200  UTC that day,
Météo-France Météo-France is the French national meteorological service. Organisation The organisation was established by decree in June 1993 and is a department of the Ministry of Transportation. It is headquartered in Paris but many domestic operatio ...
(MFR) initiated advisories on Tropical Disturbance 09. Upon being classified, the disturbance had a broad circulation that was difficult to locate, with moderate convection in its eastern periphery. The thunderstorms organized further, and MFR upgraded the disturbance to a tropical depression at 0000 UTC on February 19. Three hours later, the JTWC began issuing advisories on Tropical Cyclone 16S, and at 0600 UTC that day, MFR upgraded the depression to a moderate tropical storm after an advanced scatterometer indicated winds of over ; as a result, the National Weather Service of Madagascar gave it the name Haruna. By that time, the circulation had become better organized with increased rainbands, and with an
anticyclone An anticyclone is a weather phenomenon defined as a large-scale circulation of winds around a central region of high atmospheric pressure, clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from abov ...
aloft, the storm developed well-defined
outflow Outflow may refer to: *Capital outflow, the capital leaving a particular economy *Bipolar outflow, in astronomy, two continuous flows of gas from the poles of a star *Outflow (hydrology), the discharge of a lake or other reservoir system * Outflow ...
. The structure of Haruna continued to become more symmetrical with a large radius of maximum winds, developing a ragged
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 ...
early on February 20. Based on the improved appearance, MFR upgraded Haruna to a severe tropical storm at 0000 UTC that day. About 12 hours later, the agency upgraded Haruna further to tropical cyclone status, with 10 minute winds of . That day, an approaching
trough Trough may refer to: In science * Trough (geology), a long depression less steep than a trench * Trough (meteorology), an elongated region of low atmospheric pressure * Trough (physics), the lowest point on a wave * Trough level (medicine), the l ...
weakened the ridge to the south, causing the cyclone to slow and move erratically. While Haruna was approaching the southwestern coast of Madagascar, it developed a 120 km (75 mi) wide eye, and the eyewall passed over
Europa Island Europa Island (, ), in Malagasy Nosy Ampela is a low-lying tropical atoll in the Mozambique Channel, about a third of the way from southern Madagascar to southern Mozambique. The island had never been inhabited until 1820, when the French fam ...
. Initially, MFR estimated that the storm would intensify to intense tropical cyclone status, and the agency assessed that Haruna reached 10 minute winds of on February 20. The next day, JTWC estimated peak 1 minute winds of . In contrast, MFR estimated at that time that the cyclone had peaked when the eyewall thunderstorms warmed, followed by the eye becoming less organized and the winds decreasing. While moving slowly to the east-southeast, Haruna re-intensified early on February 22 to its previous MFR peak intensity. At around 0230 UTC that day, the cyclone made landfall about 55 km (35 mi) south of
Morombe Morombe is an urban municipality (commune urbaine) on the south-west coast in Atsimo-Andrefana, Madagascar. It can be reached by the National road 55 or pirogue from Morondava. It is situated at 283 km from Tulear. An airport serves the town. ...
in southwestern Madagascar. Haruna quickly weakened below cyclone status, and while over land it accelerated to the southeast. On February 23, Haruna weakened to an overland depression with 10 minute winds of around . A few hours later, the system emerged into the Indian Ocean near Fort Dauphin as a tropical disturbance. With generally favorable conditions, convection reorganized slightly and the system redeveloped outflow to the south. Early on February 24, Haruna re-intensified into a moderate tropical storm, although soon after it weakened again due to cooler waters, increasing shear, and dry air. At 1200 UTC, MFR issued its last advisory after Haruna began losing tropical characteristics, designating it as a
subtropical depression A subtropical cyclone is a weather system that has some characteristics of both tropical and an extratropical cyclone. As early as the 1950s, meteorologists were uncertain whether they should be characterized as tropical or extratropical cyclon ...
. The next day, the JTWC also discontinued advisories on the storm, noting that Haruna was dissipating about 665 km (415 mi) south-southwest of
Réunion Réunion (; french: La Réunion, ; previously ''Île Bourbon''; rcf, label= Reunionese Creole, La Rényon) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas department and region of France. It is located approximately east of the island ...
.


Impact and aftermath

On Europa Island in the Mozambique Channel, Haruna produced wind gusts of 144 km/h (90 mph) during the passage of the eyewall. Before the cyclone struck Madagascar, the
Intertropical Convergence Zone The Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ ), known by sailors as the doldrums or the calms because of its monotonous windless weather, is the area where the northeast and the southeast trade winds converge. It encircles Earth near the thermal e ...
had caused flooding in the country that killed four people and caused widespread road disruption. Officials prepared by collecting supplies in the capital
Antananarivo Antananarivo ( French: ''Tananarive'', ), also known by its colonial shorthand form Tana, is the capital and largest city of Madagascar. The administrative area of the city, known as Antananarivo-Renivohitra ("Antananarivo-Mother Hill" or "An ...
beginning on February 20, and sending an emergency crew to the expected landfall location. Residents were evacuated using boats and canoes to shelters. For several days while offshore western Madagascar, Haruna dropped greater than normal rainfall. The storm ultimately made landfall about 15 hours faster than anticipated. Winds and rainfall from Haruna damaged houses and power systems, and also damaged 265 classrooms and 16 health facilities. There was also damage to the rice and maize crops from high winds near the coast, causing food shortages. Rains from the storm caused a dyke along the
Fiherenana River ''Fiherenana'' is a river in the region Atsimo-Andrefana in southern Madagascar. It flows into the Indian Ocean at Tulear. Due to a local '' fady'' (taboo), pirogue A pirogue ( or ), also called a piragua or piraga, is any of various sma ...
to break, which flooded a large region and forced about 6,000 people to evacuate their homes. The flooding from the dyke break was worst in
Toliara Toliara (also known as ''Toliary'', ; formerly ''Tuléar'') is a city in Madagascar. It is the capital of the Atsimo-Andrefana region, located 936 km southwest of national capital Antananarivo. The current spelling of the name was adopted ...
, where most residents lost access to fresh water and power. Flooding in the city caused the temporarily closure of the airport there. The town of
Morombe Morombe is an urban municipality (commune urbaine) on the south-west coast in Atsimo-Andrefana, Madagascar. It can be reached by the National road 55 or pirogue from Morondava. It is situated at 283 km from Tulear. An airport serves the town. ...
was temporarily isolated after the road was blocked. Power outages affected Morombe, Toliara,
Sakaraha Sakaraha is a town and municipality in Atsimo-Andrefana Region, south-western Madagascar. It has a population of 31,183 in 2018. Geography Sakaraha is situated along route nationale No. 7 (Tuléar- Fianarantsoa) at 134 km from Tuléar, 64& ...
, and
Betioky Sud Betioky is a town in Atsimo-Andrefana Region, Madagascar and is crossed by the Route nationale 10. The population is 25,612 inhabitants in 2018. An airport serves the town. Betioky belongs to the poorest regions of Madagascar, where no facilitie ...
. Downed trees had affected roads near Toliara but were quickly removed. About 1,050 houses were flooded, another 691 lost their roofs, and 7,402 were destroyed, leaving 13,882 people homeless. Overall, Haruna killed 26 people and injured another 127. There were initial difficulties in distributing aid to areas of southwestern Madagascar due to prevailing unsettled weather, along with fuel shortages. Workers used boats to rescue people in flooded areas. Members of the Madagascar Armed Forces, along with about 200
Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...
volunteers, assisted in evacuations and aid distribution, and the Red Cross also provided free medical consultations to thousands of people. Following the storm, there were increased levels of malaria, dysentery, and childhood diarrhea in the area around Toliara, and there was a locust outbreak. Increased locust activity persisted into the summer, and had been occurring since late 2012; this caused continued food shortages, and by July the locusts were affecting about half of the country's farmlands. To prevent further spreading of disease, officials provided vaccinations and sprayed insecticide. In isolated villages in southwestern Madagascar, residents faced food shortages, while in some areas, the water supply was contaminated. Within a few weeks of the storms, many residents whose dwellings were not destroyed were able to return to their homes. In Toliara, about 4,000 students were initially unable to return to school due to being displaced. In the middle of March, 1,948 displaced people stayed in a military camp or two schools, but most returned home by early April. Repairs to the dyke in Toliara began in early April, and were expected to take about a month and a half. On February 23, the
prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
of Madagascar issued an appeal to the international community for assistance. In Toliara, United Nations agencies, including the World Food Programme, and
non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...
s worked together to provide food for 3,000 people in six shelters. The World Food Programme sent a truck with 1,050 tons of food to Toliara, including corn and
legume A legume () is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seed of such a plant. When used as a dry grain, the seed is also called a pulse. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consumption, for livestock f ...
s. A few days after Haruna struck, the French Red Cross sent a ship to Toliara with 35 tons of supplies, including for housing and water. The
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is a worldwide humanitarian aid organization that reaches 160 million people each year through its 192-member National Societies. It acts before, during and after disas ...
authorized funds to help up to 10,000 affected residents. Handicap International provided food and shelter to 547 people in Toliara.
Action Against Hunger Action Against Hunger (french: Action Contre La Faim - ACF) is a global humanitarian organization which originated in France and is committed to ending world hunger. The organization helps malnourished children and provides communities with acce ...
sent a plane with 15 tons of supplies, including water treatment units, to Madagascar after the storm. By March 20, 1,330 wells were disinfected by various crews. On March 1, the
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...
donated
The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...
200,000 for immediate relief. The
Red Crescent Society of the United Arab Emirates The Red Crescent Society of the United Arab Emirates is the United Arab Emirates (UAE) affiliate of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The authority was founded in Abu Dhabi in 1983 with support of the late She ...
sent about 80 tonnes of food, medicine, and building supplies to the country.


See also

* Cyclone Fanele – powerful cyclone that struck western Madagascar in 2009


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haruna (2013) Cyclones in Madagascar 2012–13 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season 2013 in Madagascar South-West Indian Ocean tropical cyclones Cyclones in Mozambique 2013 in Mozambique Tropical cyclones in 2013