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Tropical Cyclone Hyacinthe was the wettest tropical cyclone on record worldwide. The eighth
named storm Tropical cyclones and subtropical cyclones are named by various warning centers to simplify communication between forecasters and the general public regarding forecasts, watches and warnings. The names are intended to reduce confusion in the ...
of the season, Hyacinthe formed on January 15, 1980, to the northeast of
Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...
in the southern
Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...
. Initially it moved to the west-southwest, and while slowly intensifying it passed north of the French
overseas department The overseas departments and regions of France (french: départements et régions d'outre-mer, ; ''DROM'') are departments of France that are outside metropolitan France, the European part of France. They have exactly the same status as mainlan ...
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 ...
. On January 19,
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 ...
estimated that the storm had intensified to a
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 ...
. Hyacinthe looped to the south of eastern
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 ...
and weakened, although it restrengthened after turning to the east. The storm executed another loop to the southwest of Réunion, passing near the island for a second and later third time. Hyacinthe became
extratropical 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 p ...
on January 29 after turning southward, dissipating two days later. For twelve days, Hyacinthe dropped torrential rainfall on Réunion; nearly all of the island received more than 1 m (3.3 ft) of precipitation. Over a 15-day period from January 14 to January 28, of rainfall were recorded at
Commerson Crater Commerson Crater is a caldera in the mountains of Réunion, an overseas department of France. Located in the municipal territory of Saint-Joseph, it is part of the Piton de la Fournaise, a shield volcano on the eastern end of Réunion Island, bu ...
, a volcano
caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is ...
. The heaviest rainfall occurred through a process called
orographic lift Orographic lift occurs when an air mass is forced from a low elevation to a higher elevation as it moves over rising terrain. As the air mass gains altitude it quickly cools down adiabatically, which can raise the relative humidity to 100% and cr ...
in the mountainous interior, leading to hundreds of landslides. Widespread floods damaged half the roads on Réunion and isolated three villages. Hyacinthe caused heavy damage to crops and damaged or destroyed 2,000 houses. Losses from the storm totaled $167 million (1980 
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 ...
, 676 million
francs The franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' (King of the Franks) used on early French coins and until the 18th centu ...
), and 25 people were killed.


Meteorological history

In the middle of January 1980, 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 ...
persisted along 10°  S, spawning a small low-level circulation near
St. Brandon It is highly likely that the name Saint Brandon was derived from the French sailors and corsairs that sailed to and from Britanny, after a town called Saint-Brandan. It has since been Anglicised to Saint Brandon and is also known as the Cargad ...
. According to
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), a tropical depression formed about 355 km (220 mi) northeast of
Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...
on January 15. It tracked to the west-southwest, passing north of the island on January 17. That day, 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) also reported that a tropical depression had developed, giving it the identifier "08S". Shortly thereafter, the JTWC upgraded the depression to a tropical storm, and the MFR followed suit on January 18, naming the storm ''Hyacinthe''. The storm gradually intensified as it passed north 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 ...
, with 1-minute
winds Wind is the natural movement of air or other gases relative to a planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting a few hou ...
of 110 km/h (70 mph) by January 19, according to the JTWC. That day, an eye developed, and MFR estimated that Hyacinthe intensified to tropical cyclone status, with 10-minute winds of 120 km/h (75 mph). A strengthening
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 ...
to the south turned the storm northwestward, and on January 20, Hyacinthe executed a small loop to the south, just offshore eastern Madagascar. While moving to the south, Hyacinthe's winds steadily decreased, as the storm weakened. On January 21, the storm weakened below tropical cyclone intensity, and on January 22 the JTWC estimated winds decreased to 75 km/h (45 mph). The next day, it turned to the east while slowly re-intensifying. On January 24, the JTWC upgraded Hyacinthe to the equivalent of a minimal hurricane, with winds of 120 km/h (75 mph). After approaching within 175 km (120 mi) west-southwest of Réunion, the cyclone turned to the northwest and executed another loop. The JTWC estimated that Hyacinthe reached peak winds of 130 km/h (80 mph) on January 25, which the storm maintained for about 24 hours. During that time, Hyacinthe turned to the southeast and later weakened. On January 26, it moved near Réunion for the third time, passing about 105 km (65 mi) to the south. The storm turned southward, becoming
extratropical 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 p ...
on January 29. Over the next two days, the remnants of Hyacinthe accelerated, turned to the east, and dissipated to the southeast of Madagascar.


Impact

For twelve days, the circulation of the storm produced cloudiness and thunderstorms over Réunion. Hyacinthe broke several rainfall records for tropical cyclones, becoming the wettest tropical cyclone on record. From January 14 to January 28, the storm dropped at
Commerson Crater Commerson Crater is a caldera in the mountains of Réunion, an overseas department of France. Located in the municipal territory of Saint-Joseph, it is part of the Piton de la Fournaise, a shield volcano on the eastern end of Réunion Island, bu ...
, just north of the
Piton de la Fournaise Piton de la Fournaise (; en, "Peak of the Furnace") is a shield volcano on the eastern side of Réunion island (a French overseas department and region) in the Indian Ocean. It is currently one of the most active volcanoes in the world, along ...
volcano. Over ten days, Hyacinthe produced 5,678 mm (223.5 in), also at Commerson. In twelve hours, Hyacinthe dropped 1,095 mm (43.1 in) of rainfall at
Grand Îlet Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and commu ...
, just shy of the record set by Cyclone Denise in 1966. The highest daily total was on January 25, when fell at Commerson. Over a three-day period, the storm dropped 3,240 mm (127.6 in) at Commerson, as well as 4,300 mm (169 in) over a five-day period ending on January 28. Only a small portion of the island near Saint-Pierre received less than 1 m (3.3 ft) of rainfall, and totals increased further inland, with over 2 m (6.6 ft) recorded at four locations. Such heavy rainfall typically occurs on the island when tropical cyclones approach, owing to orographic enhancement in the mountainous interior. In addition to the rainfall, Hyacinthe produced a minimum
barometric pressure Atmospheric pressure, also known as barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , which is equivalent to 1013.25 millibars, 7 ...
of at Saint-Pierre on January 27. Wind gusts reached in Saint-Denis, although the mountainous portion of the island reported winds as strong as . Wave action was not severe due to the quick changes in track and lack of significant intensity. There was some beach erosion along western-facing beaches, and Pointe des Galets sustained damage to coastal properties. However, any major damage caused by the storm was largely due to the heavy rainfall. The Rivière Langevin reported increased flow, reaching a discharge of about 300 m3/s (10,500 ft3/s). Along Rivière-du-Mat les Bas, river flooding entered five houses. Floods washed out a and a portion of a highway along a ravine near Chaudron. Along
Route nationale 1 The Route nationale 1 is a trunk road ( nationale) in France between Paris and Calais. It is approximately long. Reclassification The majority of the original road has been superseded by the A16 autoroute. As a result, much of the road has no ...
, traffic was disrupted after rocks blocked the roadway. In
Petite-Île Petite-Île (, literally ''Little Isle'') is a commune on the French island and department of Réunion. The commune is bordered by the communes of Saint-Joseph to the east and Saint-Pierre to the west. The commune gets its name from the uninh ...
, floods washed out a bridge and of roads. About half of the roads on Réunion were damaged, and road damage was estimated at $40 million (1980 USD, 161.3 million francs). The rain caused widespread mudslides, including hundreds near
Salazie Salazie () is a volcanic caldera and commune (administrative division) in the department and region of Réunion. The first settlement of the area took place in 1829 after a cyclone had devastated the nearby coast, and the municipality of Sal ...
and
Cilaos Cilaos () is a town and commune on the French island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean. It is located centrally on the island, in a caldera of altitude 1,214 m. The caldera (usually known as the 'Cirque') is also named for the community. History ...
. Three towns were temporarily isolated, including
Hell-Bourg Hell-Bourg is a small village in the Salazie commune (administrative division) of the French overseas department of Réunion. It is the main community in the island's Cirque de Salazie, and is named for the respected former admiral and island ...
which was cut off for about eight days, Helicopters delivered food and clothing to the villages. Throughout Réunion, Hyacinthe killed 25 people and left 7,000 homeless. Four of the deaths occurred after a house was washed away at Petite-Île. A school was destroyed in Saint-Louis. The storm caused power and water outages, and about 30% of the island temporarily lost phone service. Hyacinthe damaged 1,712 houses and destroyed another 288; housing damage totaled about $42 million (1980 USD, 170 million francs). Flooding caused $48 million (1980 USD, 194 million francs) in agricultural damage, including about 1,000 killed cattle and near-total losses to
banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...
s,
mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South a ...
es, and
avocado The avocado (''Persea americana'') is a medium-sized, evergreen tree in the laurel family (Lauraceae). It is native to the Americas and was first domesticated by Mesoamerican tribes more than 5,000 years ago. Then as now it was prized for i ...
s. Overall damage was estimated at $167 million (676 million francs). Many records set by the storm were broken by
Cyclone Gamede Intense Tropical Cyclone Gamede was among the wettest tropical cyclones on record, dropping more than 5.5 m (18 ft) of rain in a nine-day period on Réunion island in the southwest Indian Ocean. The seventh named storm of the 2006–0 ...
in 2007, including the rainfall accumulations from three to eight days. However, Hyacinthe retained its status as the wettest overall tropical cyclone. Elsewhere, Hyacinthe affected Madagascar as a weaker storm. Wind gusts reached at
Mananjary Mananjary is a city located in Vatovavy, Madagascar with a population of 25,222 inhabitants in 2018. It is the chief city of the Mananjary district. It contains a town of the same name, situated on the southern part of the east coast, where the M ...
and on Île Sainte-Marie. At the same two locations, rainfall reached and , respectively. On Mauritius, the storm's passage forced the main port to close.


See also

*
List of wettest tropical cyclones by country This is a list of wettest tropical cyclones by country, using all known available sources. Data is most complete for Australia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Japan, Hong Kong, Mexico, Taiwan, Micronesia's Yap and Chuuk, and the United States, with ...
*
Tropical cyclones in the Mascarene Islands Since 1656, at least 300 tropical cyclones have affected the Mascarene Islands in the southern Indian Ocean. The archipelago consists of several islands, including Mauritius, Réunion, and Rodrigues. Mauritius claims responsibility for sever ...
* Cyclone Dina (2002) – produced heavy rainfall on Renuion.


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hyacinthe Hyacinthe Tropical cyclones in the Mascarene Islands Cyclones in Madagascar South-West Indian Ocean tropical cyclones Hyacinthe