Hurricane/Cyclone/Typhoon Journal Entry
Madagascar Hit With Two Cyclones (January 24, 2009)
Satellite view of tropical cyclones Fanele and Eric hitting Madagascar. NASA.
The big African island of Madagascar was slammed on both sides by tropical cyclones this week. Early in the week, Tropical Cyclone Erin raced across the Indian Ocean and plowed into the eastern side of the island, killing one person and leaving hundreds of others homeless. A few days later, Tropical Cyclone Fanele roared across the Mozambique Channel between the island and the African mainland and slammed the western side.
Fanele was the bigger and stronger of the two storms, with peak winds of 130 mph (210 kmh). The storm brought heavy rains that triggered floods along the island's southwestern coast.
Tropical cyclones are common this time of year in Madagascar, when ocean temperatures in the Indian Ocean are warmest. Last year, cyclones killed 110 people on the island and left about a half-million others homeless. Two of the most destructive storms were tropical cyclones Ivan and Fame.
