1973 Flores cyclone
Satellite image of the Flores cyclone on 28 April | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 26 April 1973 |
| Dissipated | 30 April 1973 |
| Category 3 severe tropical cyclone | |
| 10-minute sustained (Aus) | |
| Highest winds | 150 km/h (90 mph) |
| Lowest pressure | 950 hPa (mbar); 28.05 inHg |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 1,650-1,653 total (Deadliest tropical cyclone recorded in the Southern Hemisphere) |
| Damage | $5 million (USD) |
| Areas affected | Indonesia |
| IBTrACS | |
Part of the 1972–73 Australian region cyclone season | |
The 1973 Flores cyclone was the deadliest known tropical cyclone in the Southern Hemisphere. The cyclone formed in the Banda Sea on 26 April as a tropical low. It intensified as it moved in a west-southwest direction, before shifting to the south. Early on 29 April, the cyclone peaked as a Category 3 storm on the Australian tropical cyclone intensity scale used in the region with 10-minute sustained winds of 150 km/h (90 mph) and a pressure of 950mb (28.05 inHg), before striking the north coast of the Indonesian island of Flores, dissipating the following day.
The cyclone killed 1,650 to 1,653 people, including 1,500 fishermen on Palue Island alone, and resulted in losses of around $5 million (USD). The cyclone dropped heavy rainfall across Flores, causing deadly flash flooding that damaged buildings and roads, destroying or damaging thousands of houses. Additionally, on 29 April, a Portuguese ship travelling from Portuguese Timor to Thailand capsized in the Flores Sea, leaving one survivor. Authorities in the Indonesian capital Jakarta received news of the disaster in Flores a month after the cyclone's passage, with the ship's sinking officially confirmed on 28 May.