Cyclone Filao

{{storm path|Filao 1988 track.png}}

On 23 February, Météo-France's office on the island of Réunion (MFR) started monitoring a tropical depression to the northeast of Madagascar.{{in lang|fr}} {{cite report|title=Donnes for Filao |url=http://www.meteo.fr/temps/domtom/La_Reunion/base_cyclone/nom_annee/FILAO_1987.html |publisher=Meteo France |access-date=April 10, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041103215200/http://www.meteo.fr/temps/domtom/La_Reunion/base_cyclone/nom_annee/FILAO_1987.html |archive-date=November 3, 2004 }} At this time, the depression developed a closed circulation, which received a rating of T1.5 on the Dvorak Scale, a tool used to estimate a system's intensity.{{cite report|series=Global tropical/extratropical cyclone climatic atlas|title=Tropical Cyclone Filao, 24 February-2 March|year=1996|work=National Climatic Data Center|access-date=January 27, 2015|url=http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/virtual_disk_library/index.cgi/4274123/FID218/DATA/TROPIC/SWI_NAR/1988_4.NAR}} Shortly thereafter, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) first classified the system, designating it as 14S.{{cite report|author=Joint Typhoon Warning Center|author2=Naval Pacific Meteorology and Oceanography Center|access-date=April 21, 2013|url=http://www.usno.navy.mil/NOOC/nmfc-ph/RSS/jtwc/atcr/1988atcr.pdf|pages=160–167|title=Chapter IV — Summary of South Pacific and South Indian Ocean Tropical Cyclones|type=1988 Annual Tropical Cyclone Report|publisher=United States Navy, United States Air Force|archive-date=21 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130221110137/http://www.usno.navy.mil/NOOC/nmfc-ph/RSS/jtwc/atcr/1988atcr.pdf|url-status=dead}} Following a slight increase in organization, the depression moved southwest{{cite report|publisher=United States Navy, United States Air Force|title=Tropical Cyclone 014S (Filao) best track analysis|url=http://www.usno.navy.mil/NOOC/nmfc-ph/RSS/jtwc/best_tracks/1988/1988s-bsh/bsh141988.txt|access-date=April 10, 2013|archive-date=10 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201110092605/https://www.usno.navy.mil/NOOC/nmfc-ph/RSS/jtwc/best_tracks/1988/1988s-bsh/bsh141988.txt|url-status=dead}}{{#tag:ref|Wind estimates from Météo-France and most other basins throughout the world are sustained over 10 minutes, while estimates from the United States-based Joint Typhoon Warning Center are sustained over 1 minute. 10 minute winds are about 1.14 times the amount of 1 minute winds.{{cite book|author=Christopher W Landsea|author2=Hurricane Research Division|title=Frequently Asked Questions|chapter=Subject: D4) What does "maximum sustained wind" mean? How does it relate to gusts in tropical cyclones?|access-date=July 30, 2013|publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory|chapter-url=http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/E7.html|date=April 26, 2004}}|group="nb"}} and quickly crossed the tip of northern Madagascar.{{cite report|title=Tropical Cyclone FILAO, season 1987/1988|url=http://www.firinga.com/systeme-filao.html|publisher=FIRINGA le site|access-date=April 10, 2013}} After weakening over land, the depression reentered the Mozambique channel near Analalava on 25 February. Based on a 3.0 Dvorak classification, MFR upgraded the storm into a moderate tropical storm on 27 February; the JTWC would follow suit later that day.{{cite report|author1=Kenneth R. Knapp|author2=Michael C. Kruk|author3=David H. Levinson|author4=Howard J. Diamond|author5=Charles J. Neumann|year=2010|work=The International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS): Unifying tropical cyclone best track data|title=1988 FILAO (1988055S10051)|publisher=Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society|access-date=August 21, 2013|url=http://atms.unca.edu/ibtracs/ibtracs_v03r04/browse-ibtracs/index.php?name=v03r04-1988055S10051|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151003012801/http://atms.unca.edu/ibtracs/ibtracs_v03r04/browse-ibtracs/index.php?name=v03r04-1988055S10051|archive-date=October 3, 2015|url-status=dead}}

After reaching the 40th meridian, Filao turned south, which weakened a ridge. The ridge near the system began to re-strengthen, causing Filao to move erratically, first west, and then northwest. The new position of the ridge provided highly favorable conditions aloft, resulting in a period of rapid deepening. By 29 February, MFR upgraded the storm into a severe tropical storm, while the JTWC estimated that Filao attained hurricane-force. Early on 1 March, data from MFR indicated that Filao reached its peak intensity of 85 mph (135 km/h) and its minimum pressure of 954 mbar (hPa); 28.17 inHg, in agreement with T4.5 and T5.0 from the Dvorak Technique. Subsequently, the JTWC reported that Cyclone Filao had attained winds equivalent to Category 2 intensity on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale, with winds of {{convert|155|km/h|mph|abbr=on}}. Despite a decrease in satellite intensity estimates, Filao held on to this intensity until 1800 UTC, when the storm made landfall near Quelimane in Mozambique. Cyclone Filao quickly weakened over land; both agencies suggest that the storm dissipated on 2 March over the Zambeze Valley and embedded into the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ).

Due to the weak nature of the storm while crossing Madagascar, damage was minor. After crossing Juan de Nova Island as a tropical depression on 27 February, winds of {{convert|54|km/h|mph|abbr=on}} and gusts of {{convert|87|km/h|mph|abbr=on}} were reported, along with a minimum barometric pressure of {{convert|1002.3|mbar|inHg|abbr=on}} at 0250 UTC.

Although the cyclone affected a sparsely populated region of Mozambique, Filao brought heavy rains. Peak storm totals included {{convert|103.9|mm|in|abbr=on}} in Quelimane and {{convert|51.5|mm|in|abbr=on}} in Beira, both far greater than their March average. Winds of {{convert|47|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} and gusts of {{convert|67|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} were measured.{{cite journal|title=WMO Bulletin|journal=World Meteorological Organization|year=1989|volume=38}} Furthermore, a minimum pressure of {{convert|993.9|mbar|inHg|abbr=on}} was reported in Quelimane at 23:00 UTC on 1 March.

The Zambezia Province, where Quelimane is located, sustained the worst damage from the cyclone.{{cite book|title=News review - Issues 121-144|year=1988|publisher=Mozambique Information Office}} Throughout Quelimane, 57 fatalities were reported and 800 homes were damaged.{{cite book|title=World food needs and availability|year=1988|publisher=The Office|page=37}} Eleven people were wounded, 7,375 persons were rendered homeless, 2,240 buildings were damaged, of which 359 were completely destroyed. Throughout the city, power was knocked out and telephone service was cut.{{cite journal|last=Jeremy Harding|title=Inroads into silence|journal=Index on Censorship|date=October 24, 2007|volume=18|issue=4|pages=12–13|doi=10.1080/03064228908534624|doi-access=free}}

In the Inhassunge Province, {{convert|400|ha|acres|abbr=on|round=5}} of rice were lost and thousands of coconut trees were downed by the storm. Throughout the district, some schools were damaged while 800 homes were destroyed.{{cite news|title=Cyclone Hits Mozambique's Province of Zambezia|newspaper=The Xinhua General Overseas News Service|date=March 13, 1988}}

Within the province of Sofala, {{convert|14,395|ha|acre|abbr=on|round=5}} of harvest were destroyed, 28,174 people were rendered homeless, and 1,389 buildings were destroyed. Elsewhere, many rivers along the southern and central part of the nation were flooded; consequently; {{convert|5,500|ha|acre|abbr=on|round=5}} of crops were destroyed. The Pungwe River experienced its worst flood of the 1980s, but the worst flooding took place along the Limpopo River.{{cite news|title=severe floods render tens of thousands of mozambicans homeless|newspaper=The Xinhua General Overseas News Service|date=March 15, 1988}} Near the Pungwe River, a road that connected Mozambique to Zimbabwe was destroyed. Many nearby homes and fields were destroyed, forcing numerous families to seek shelter.{{cite news|title=Mozambique floods cut Beira-Zimbabwe road|newspaper=BBC News|date=March 10, 1988}} Throughout the nation of Mozambique, large portions of the maize, potatoes, tomatoes, cucumber, and pumpkin crops were washed away due to flooding.{{cite book|title=Funk & Wagnalls new encyclopedia 1989 yearbook|year=1989|author=Leon L. Bram|page=57}}

Overall, the storm brought considerable damage to the nation;{{cite book|title=International Perspectives on Natural Disasters: Occurrence, Mitigation, and Consequences|year=2004|publisher=Kluwer Academic Publishers|page=239|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1NjIHI7JFH8C&dq=cyclone+filao&pg=PA239|author1=Joseph P. Stoltman |author2=John Lidstone |author3=Lisa M. DeChano |access-date=April 10, 2013|isbn=9781402028502}} it was also the first storm to affect the nation since Tropical Storm Domoina in 1984.{{cite journal|title=Avaliação da Vulnerabilidade as Mudanças Climáticas e Estratégias |journal=Mapauto |year=2005 |page=9 |url=http://www.portaldogoverno.gov.mz/docs_gov/estrategia/agricultura/Avaliacao_vulnerab_mud_climat_estrateg_adapt.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100529185342/http://www.portaldogoverno.gov.mz/docs_gov/estrategia/agricultura/Avaliacao_vulnerab_mud_climat_estrateg_adapt.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=29 May 2010 |access-date=August 22, 2013 |language=pt }} Damage totaled to $10 million (1988 USD). Property damage alone totaled to $1.5 million,{{cite news|title=Courier-Mail|newspaper=Appinet News|date=March 14, 1988|agency=AIM}} just under $1 million of which came from buildings.{{cite news|title=International News|date=March 12, 1988|agency=Associated Press}} Moreover, insured losses from the storm totaled $1 million. Even though the death toll was initially believed to be 57;{{cite news|title=Toll in cyclone put at 57|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=nl0aAAAAIBAJ&sjid=AysEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5692,3307173&dq=cyclone+mozambique+filao&hl=en|access-date=April 10, 2013|newspaper=The Milwaukee Journal|date=March 12, 1988|agency=Associated Press|page=21}}{{Dead link|date=January 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} by 14 March, this number had increased to the final death toll of 100 after additional information was received from remote areas of the country.{{cite news|title=Cyclone Death Toll Rises to 100|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Yr1dAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Nl4NAAAAIBAJ&pg=6209,2475684&dq=cyclone+mozambique+filao&hl=en|access-date=April 10, 2013|agency=Associated Press|newspaper=The Press-Courier|page=7|date=March 14, 1988}}{{in lang|pt}} {{cite report|title=Clima da Bacia do Rio Limpopo: Ciclones|url=http://www.limpoporak.com/pt/rio/clima+e+meteorologia/climate+of+the+limpopo+river+basin/climate_cyclones.aspx?print=1|publisher=Clima da Bacia do Rio Limpopo|access-date=August 22, 2013}}{{cite news|title=Mozambique total over 100|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=HidKAAAAIBAJ&sjid=tIUMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3463,6178473&dq=cyclone+mozambique+filao&hl=en|agency=Associated Press|access-date=April 10, 2013|newspaper=The Vindicator|date=March 14, 1988|page=3}}{{cite web|author=Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance|title=Significant Data on Major Disasters Worldwide 1900-present|date=August 1993|page=140|access-date=February 9, 2015|url=http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNABP986.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718110440/http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNABP986.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 July 2011}} About 90,000 people were directly affected by the system.{{cite web|url=http://www.limpoporak.com/en/river/climate+and+weather/climate+of+the+limpopo+river+basin/climate_cyclones.aspx?print=1|title=Climate of the Limpopo River Basin: Cyclones|publisher=Limpopo River Awareness Kit|access-date=April 10, 2013}}

{{portal|Tropical cyclones}}

• South-West Indian Ocean tropical cyclone season
• Cyclone Nadia (1994)
• Tropical Storm Lisette (1997)
• Cyclone Japhet (2003)

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