Cyclone Hellen

Very Intense Tropical Cyclone Hellen

Very intense tropical cyclone (SWIO scale)
Category 4 (Saffir–Simpson scale)
Cyclone Hellen rapidly intensifying on March 30 over the Mozambique Channel
Formed	March 26, 2014
Dissipated	April 5, 2014
(Remnant low after April 1)
Highest winds	10-minute sustained: 230 km/h (145 mph) 1-minute sustained: 240 km/h (150 mph)
Lowest pressure	915 hPa (mbar); 27.02 inHg
Fatalities	8 total, 9 missing
Areas affected	Mozambique, Comoro Islands, Madagascar
Part of the 2013–14 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season

Very Intense Tropical Cyclone Hellen of March 2014 was one of the most powerful tropical cyclones in the Mozambique Channel on record, as well as the most intense of the 2013–14 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season. It formed on March 26 in the northern portion of the channel, and in its formative stages brought rainfall to coastal Mozambique. While moving southeastward, it developed an organized area of convection over the center. Warm waters allowed Hellen to rapidly intensify while passing south of the Comoros, with a well-defined eye forming in the middle of the thunderstorms. The cyclone attained peak intensity March 30, with maximum sustained winds estimated 230 km/h (145 mph) according to the Regional Specialized Meteorological Center, Météo-France in La Réunion. Subsequently, Hellen weakened quickly due to dry air and interaction with Madagascar, and the eye dissipated. On March 31, the storm made landfall in northwestern Madagascar as a weakened cyclone, despite previous forecasts for the center to remain over water. By April 1, Hellen was no longer a tropical cyclone after most of the convection dissipated. The remnants turned to the west, moving over Mozambique without redeveloping.

Early in its duration, Hellen's rainfall in Mozambique destroyed hundreds of houses and a bridge. Flooding killed four people in the country, three of whom due to a home collapsing. Later, the cyclone passed south of the Comoros islands, causing flooding due to high storm surge and waves that killed one person. The storm forced 8,956 people to evacuate their homes due to the threat for landslides, while 901 houses were damaged or destroyed. On nearby Mayotte, high rainfall flooded rivers, sweeping one car away. In northwestern Madagascar, Hellen damaged or destroyed 611 houses, leaving 1,736 people homeless. The storm killed three people after capsizing a boat.