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Cyclone Percy

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Natural Disasters; Storms

   CAPTION: Cyclone Percy

   Category 5 cyclone ( SSHS)
   Cyclone Percy at peak intensity
   Cyclone Percy at peak intensity
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   Formed February 25, 2005
   Dissipated March 4, 2005
   Highest
   winds
   160 mph (265 km/h) (1-minute sustained)
   Lowest pressure 900 mbar ( hPa)
   Damage Unknown
   Fatalities none
   Areas
   affected American Samoa, Tokelau, Cook Islands
   Part of the
   2004-05 Southern Hemisphere tropical cyclone season

   Cyclone Percy was the seventh named storm of the 2004-05 South Pacific
   cyclone season (which is the part of the 2004-05 Southern Hemisphere
   tropical cyclone season) and the fourth and final cyclone to form
   during the February 2005 outbreak in the South Pacific Ocean.

   Percy was also the most damaging of the February cyclones as it
   battered the Cook Islands, which were still recovering from the impacts
   of Cyclones Meena, Nancy and Olaf. Percy then devastated the island of
   Tokelau, leaving many homeless and millions in dollars in property
   damages (although exact damage figures are unavailable). Because of
   warnings in anticipation of the storm, there were no deaths and there
   were only a few injuries.

Storm history

   Storm path
   Enlarge
   Storm path

   A discernible area of low pressure formed east of Tuvalu on February
   23. The area of low pressure moved eastward, where it strengthened into
   Tropical Depression 10F a day later. Since the depression was located
   in an area of low wind shear and warm water temperatures, it was able
   to quickly strengthen into Tropical Storm Percy. At this point in time,
   Percy was located 120 miles east of Fongafale, Tuvalu, and was moving
   towards the east-southeast at 14 kt (16 mph, 26 km/h). On February 26,
   Percy reached Category 1 status, while located 400 miles (644 km) north
   of American Samoa. While Percy moved east-southeast, a shortwave trough
   developed southwest of the storm. The trough caused the cyclone to
   intensify even further to a Category 3 storm as it passed between
   Fakaofa and Swains Island. Percy then reached Category 4 status north
   of Pago Pago as it winds reached over 135 mph (115 kt, 213 km/h) and
   the barometric pressure at its centre fell to 925 millibars. on
   February 27, Cyclone Percy encountered a high pressure ridge which
   slowed its forward speed. Because of this, the cyclone's structure
   became elliptical, which caused the cyclone to weaken back to Category
   3 status. By February 28, Percy bypassed the Pukapuka and Nassau
   Islands as a Category 3 cyclone as it continued to move east-southeast.
   Cyclone Percy hitting Swains Island on February 27, 2005
   Enlarge
   Cyclone Percy hitting Swains Island on February 27, 2005

   By then, the cyclone was re-organizing as the storm steered to the
   southeast. On March 2, Percy reached its second peak intensity. Its
   winds reached 160 mph (140 kt, 265 km/h) on the Saffir-Simpson
   Hurricane Scale, and an estimated barometric pressure of 900 millibars.
   Cyclone Percy maintained Category 5 status for 18 hours, while located
   110 mi (177 km) west of Palmerston Island. After reaching Category 5
   status, Percy began to weaken, due to increasing wind shear. During its
   weakening phase, Cyclone Percy passed south of Tropical Depression 20S.
   Pulled by an upper level trough, Percy swung to the east, passing
   Tropical Depression 24S in the process, before being caught up by
   another trough. By March 4, the centre of Percy became detached from
   the main area of convection and Percy quickly weakened to a tropical
   storm. Tropical Storm Percy then quickly accelerated to 20 kt (23 mph,
   37 km/h) as it became an extratropical storm.

   Percy briefly entered the New Zealand area of responsibility before
   becoming extratropical at 1200 UTC. By March 5, the remnants of Percy
   finally dissipated 700 mi (1127 km) southwest of Rarotonga.

Preparations

   When Percy quickly reached cyclone strength, forecasters began to issue
   watches and warnings for the American Samoa and Tokelau areas, which
   were impacted by earlier storms Nancy and Olaf. As Percy continued to
   move eastward, forecasters predicted the storm to strengthen into a
   Category 2 or Category 3 storm within 12-24 hours. meanwhile,
   forecasters issued gale warnings for Tokelau. On February 26,
   forecasters predicted Percy would stay on its current track and miss
   the island of Atafu by 50-70 miles (80-113 km), even though the storm
   could bring damaging gale force winds and heavy rains to the island.
   However, forecasters predicted Percy would make landfall on Tokelau. In
   American Samoa, hurricane warnings were issued for Swains Island, while
   the rest of American Samoa remained under a hurricane watch. Later, the
   gale warnings for Tokelau were changed to hurricane warnings as Percy
   moved to within 75 miles (121 km) north of Atafu. In Nukunou and
   Fakaofo, forecasters predicted that the cyclone would bring 60-70 mph
   (95-111 km/h) winds, heavy rains and possible flooding in low lying
   areas.

   Forecasters predicted that Cyclone Percy was going to turn to the
   southeast and hit the islands of Pukapuka and Nassau directly. Because
   of this, evacuations were ordered and emergency shelters were activated
   in Rarotonga. Forecasters also predicted that Percy was going to cause
   a strong storm surge. The Joint Typhoon Warning Centre and NOAA also
   predicted that the storm was going to strengthen further within 12-24
   hours. In addition, forecast models predicted that Cyclone Percy would
   take a similar track like Cyclone Olaf weeks earlier. That prompted
   officials in the southern Cook Islands to order evacuations.

Impact

   Damage after Percy
   Enlarge
   Damage after Percy

   Like the earlier cyclones Meena, Nancy and Olaf, Percy left widespread
   damage across Swains Island, Tokelau and the southern Cook Islands.
   However, because of well executed warnings, there were no deaths and
   there were only a few injuries. Percy was the worst cyclone to strike
   Tokelau since a similar cyclone hit the area in 1966.

American Samoa and Tokelau

   The strong winds from Percy knocked out power and communications
   infrastructure in Swains Island. Efforts to re-establish contact with
   the island were unsuccessful for a week. After the storm, however, all
   eight people who rode out the storm survived, though nine of the eleven
   buildings on the islands were destroyed or severely damaged. Damage in
   American Samoa was minimal. In Tokelau, Percy damaged trees and knocked
   down powerlines. During the height of the storm, one person was injured
   by flying debris, and two others were swept out to sea, but all three
   survived. In Nokonunu, the cyclone destroyed the only school and
   damaged 80% of the structures. The local hospital completely lost power
   during the storm and its emergency generator was overwhelmed by the
   flooding.

   In Fakaofo, the storm surge from Percy partially damaged a sea wall and
   caused major beach erosion. One house was destroyed while others were
   severely damaged. Percy also damaged much of the coconut harvest and
   50% of the livestock were killed by the cyclone. Atafu also suffered
   similar damage as the storm damaged a UHF tower and several storage
   sheds. Damage to crops was also significant as the storm damaged much
   of the banana and pandanus harvests. The schools in Atafu suffered only
   minimal damage (mostly wind damage).

Cook Islands

   The northern Cook Islands were hardest hit by Percy as the storm left
   640 people homeless, of which 600 were in Pukapuka, and 40 were in
   Nassau. Of the buildings and houses destroyed or severely damaged, only
   ten were left standing. One person was rescued when his fishing boat
   stalled during the storm. Percy also damaged a solar power station,
   making it inoperable. Percy also battered the southern Cook Islands
   while weakening, although the damage there was minimal.

Aftermath

   Relief efforts followed after Cyclone Percy. In Swains Island, a rescue
   plane dropped food and supplies. In Tokelau and northern Cook Islands,
   the governments of Australia and New Zealand offered over $200,000
   dollars (2005 USD) in relief aid.

   In Tokelau, many of the local officials feared about contamination
   since the cyclone had scattered human waste, trash and other debris in
   the ocean and across the island. There was also an increase of
   mosquitoes and other insects, increasing the threat of a dengue fever
   outbreak. In addition, the storm damaged many of the hospitals, making
   treatment of the injured or displaced difficult. Criticism of
   government preparedness followed after Percy as emergency plans were
   not easily understood by the local population. In Nukunonu, the school,
   which was destroyed by Percy, was poorly built and vulnerable, and
   there was no early warning system. Also, many of the population had
   little time to prepare for the storm because of a social event held
   hours earlier.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclone_Percy"
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