2017–18 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season
The 2017–18 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season was a below-average season that produced only 8 tropical storms, of which 6 became tropical cyclones. It was an event in the annual cycle of tropical cyclone and subtropical cyclone formation. It officially began on November 15, 2017, and officially ended on May 15, 2018, in Mauritius and the Seychelles. For the rest of the basin, the season ended on April 30, 2018. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical and subtropical cyclones form in the basin, which is west of 90°E and south of the Equator. Tropical and subtropical cyclones in this basin are monitored by the Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre in La Réunion.
Seasonal summary
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Systems
Tropical Cyclone Ava
The cyclone's powerful winds, estimated up to, caused extensive damage in and around Toamasina. Hundreds of power poles were snapped across Toamasina; Jirama estimated repairs to be in excess of 15 billion Ariary. Heavy rains triggered flash floods in Tamatave and Antananarivo. Throughout Madagascar, at least 51 people died while 22 more were listed as missing. Approximately 161,000 people suffered direct impacts from the cyclone, with 54,000 people left homeless.Tropical Cyclone Irving
Intense Tropical Cyclone Berguitta
On January 18, Berguitta passing just southeast the Mauritius, bringing strong winds and heavy rains. The textile sector suffering a loss of Rs200 million. Later, Berguitta passed about southeast of Réunion, strong winds knocked down trees and left over 72,000 people without power. A person was killed during the storm, and the agricultural loss of the island were at €16.7 million.Tropical Depression 04
Intense Tropical Cyclone Cebile
Intense Tropical Cyclone Dumazile
Dumazile brought heavy rain to Madagascar.Dumazile produced flooding rainfall and gusty winds on Réunion. Agricultural damage on the island reached €3 million
Severe Tropical Storm Eliakim
At least 21 people were killed and approximately 19,000 people were affected in Madagascar. The eastern coastal districts were the hardest hit. More than 260 homes were destroyed and a further 630 were flooded. Road damages were about 12 billion ariary.High waves from Eliakim affected coastal roads in Réunion, and wind gusts reached on the island.
Tropical Cyclone Fakir
On April 24, Fakir passed quickly just east of Réunion. A late-season storm, Fakir dropped of rainfall in a 24-hour period, as well as producing wind gusts. The heavy rainfall caused flooding and landslides. Two people were died due to mudslides, and the economic loss were about €20 million.Severe Tropical Storm Flamboyan
Late on April 28, Flamboyan entered the South-West Indian Ocean basin. Flamboyan retained its name after moving into the basin, becoming the first moderate tropical storm in the South-West Indian Ocean basin to be named by TCWC Jakarta in history. On April 29, Flamboyan intensified into a severe tropical storm.Other systems
A low-pressure system, classified as a tropical low by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, moved west-southwestward across the 90th meridian east into the South-West Indian Ocean basin on August 8. At 10:00 UTC on the following day, Météo-France Réunion upgraded the low-pressure system to a zone of disturbed weather, with sustained winds of up to 55 km/h being detected on the southern side of the circulation by scatterometer. At this time, the disturbance was located approximately 2,375 km west of Jakarta, Indonesia. Météo-France noted that the revival of convective activity in the basin was likely due to the interaction between an eastward-moving Kelvin wave and a westward-moving Rossby wave.Storm names
Within the South-West Indian Ocean, tropical depressions and subtropical depressions that are judged to have 10-minute sustained wind speeds of 65 km/h by the Regional Specialized Meteorological Center on La Réunion Island, France are usually assigned a name. However, it is the Sub-Regional Tropical Cyclone Advisory Centers in Mauritius and Madagascar who name the systems. The Sub-Regional Tropical Cyclone Advisory Center in Mauritius names a storm should it intensify into a moderate tropical storm between 55°E and 90°E. If instead a cyclone intensifies into a moderate tropical storm between 30°E and 55°E then the Sub-Regional Tropical Cyclone Advisory Center in Madagascar assigns the appropriate name to the storm. Beginning from the 2016–17 season, name lists within the South-West Indian Ocean will be rotated on a triennial basis. Storm names are only used once, so any storm name used this year will be removed from rotation and replaced with a new name for the 2020–21 season. The unused names are expected to be reused in the list for the 2020–21 season.After the season, those six names used were automatically retired and were replaced with Alicia, Bongoyo, Chalane, Danilo, Eloise and Faraji, respectively for the 2020–21 season.