Severe Tropical Cyclone Prema was among the worst tropical cyclones to hit
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 ...
since 1987's
Cyclone Uma
In meteorology, a cyclone () is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an anti ...
.
The twenty-third storm of the season, Prema formed early on 26 March 1993 as a weak tropical depression.
Meteorological history
During 25 March, 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. ...
reported that a tropical depression, had developed within an otherwise inactive
monsoon trough, about to the west of the Fijian dependency of
Rotuma.
During the next day the system initially moved north-westwards, before it turned and moved south-westwards as it organised and developed further.
During that day the depression moved towards the northwest, before it turned and started to move towards the southwest during 26 March as it gradually developed further. During 27 March, both TCWC Nadi and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center reported that the depression had developed into a tropical cyclone with Nadi naming it as Prema.
Preparations and impact
Severe Tropical Cyclone Prema was the first named tropical cyclone to affect Vanuatu after six systems had affected the archipelago during the previous season. Prema affected the island nation between 29 –30 March, where it caused extensive damage parts of Shefa Province, including on Epi, Efate and the Shepherd Islands.
Due to the impact of this system, the name Prema was subsequently retired, by the World Meteorological Organization's RA V Tropical Cyclone Committee.
See also
*
Cyclone Bola
Severe Tropical Cyclone Bola was one of the costliest cyclones in the history of New Zealand, causing severe damage as an extratropical cyclone when it passed near the country in March 1988. It formed on February 24 to the north of Fiji, and tra ...
*
Cyclone Ivy
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prema
Category 4 South Pacific cyclones
Tropical cyclones in Vanuatu
Tropical cyclones in New Caledonia
Retired South Pacific cyclones