Moderate Tropical Storm Dumako was a weak tropical cyclone that caused moderate damage in

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 fourth disturbance and fourth named storm of the

2021–22 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season The 2021–22 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season featured the record latest start for the first system to develop. Despite the late start, it was an above-average season that produced 12 named storms, with 5 becoming tropical cyclones. The ...

, it was the third storm to make landfall on Madagascar in 2022 after Ana and Batsirai.

Meteorological history

On 10 February, a zone of disturbed weather formed over the central South Indian Ocean. One day later, the JTWC recognized it as Invest 94S. On the same day at 18:00 UTC, MFR designated the system as a tropical disturbance. A day later, the MFR upgraded the disturbance to a tropical depression. The JTWC issued a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert for this system. On 13 February, the JTWC recognized the system as ''Tropical Cyclone 12S'' at 06:00 UTC. At 18:00 UTC, the MFR upgraded the system to a moderate tropical storm and designated it as ''Dumako''. The storm continued intensifying, and at 06:00 UTC on February 14, Dumako reached its peak intensity as a moderate tropical storm, with maximum 10-minute sustained winds of 85 km/h (50 mph), maximum 1-minute sustained winds of 95 km/h (60 mph), and a minimum central pressure of 993 hPa. Around 12:00 UTC, Dumako made landfall as a moderate tropical storm near Sainte-Marie Island, Madagascar with winds of 65 km/h (40 mph). Afterward, due to land interaction, the storm began to weaken. After a few hours, it weakened into a tropical depression. It entered the Mozambique Channel before dissipating on 18 February.

Impact

Madagascar

At least 113 houses were damaged, more than 5000 people were affected. Flooding killed at least 14 people in Madagascar and 4,323 people were displaced.

Mozambique and Malawi

Heavy rain was recorded in South Malawi and caused flooding in some areas. The city of

Quelimane Quelimane () is a seaport in Mozambique. It is the administrative capital of the Zambezia Province and the province's largest city, and stands from the mouth of the Rio dos Bons Sinais (or "River of the Good Signs"). The river was named when V ...

experienced flooding, with power lines experiencing damage. 160 families were displaced and of crops were destroyed in

Malema District Malema District is a district of Nampula Province in north-eastern Mozambique. The principal town is Malema Malema is a town in the district of Malema. It is situated within the province of Nampula in Mozambique. The district borders the distr ...

. No deaths were reported in Mozambique and Malawi.

References

External links