Cyclone Hyacinthe
| Tropical cyclone (SWIO scale) | |
|---|---|
| Category 1 (Saffir–Simpson scale) | |
Cyclone Hyacinthe on January 25
|
|
| Formed | January 15, 1980 |
| Dissipated |
January 31, 1980 (extratropical after January 29) |
| Highest winds |
10-minute sustained: 120 km/h (75 mph) 1-minute sustained: 130 km/h (80 mph) |
| Fatalities | 25 direct |
| Damage | $167 million (1980 USD) |
| Areas affected | Mauritius, Réunion, Madagascar |
| Part of the 1979–80 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season | |
Tropical Cyclone Hyacinthe was the wettest tropical cyclone on record in the world. The eighth named storm of the season, Hyacinthe formed on January 15, 1980, to the northeast of Mauritius in the southern Indian Ocean. Initially it moved to the west-southwest, and while slowly intensifying it passed north of the French overseas department of Réunion. On January 19, Météo-France estimated that the storm had intensified to a tropical cyclone. Hyacinthe looped to the south of eastern Madagascar 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 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, 6,083 mm (239.5 in) of rainfall were recorded at Commerson's Crater, a volcano. The heaviest rainfall occurred through a process called orographic lift 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, 676 million francs), and 25 people were killed.
In the middle of January 1980, the Intertropical Convergence Zone persisted along 10° S, spawning a small low-level circulation near St. Brandon. According to Météo-France (MFR), a tropical depression formed about 355 km (220 mi) northeast of Mauritius on January 15. It tracked to the west-southwest, passing north of the island on January 17. That day, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) also reported that a tropical depression had developed, labeling it "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, with 1-minute winds 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 to the south turned the storm northwestward, and on January 20 Hyacinthe executed a small loop to the south just offshore eastern Madagascar.
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