Madagascar voit le passage sur ces terres de deux systèmes au même moment. La tempête Eric sur la côte Est en premier et le cyclone intense Fanele sur la côte Ouest.
Né dans le Canal du Mozambique, c'est grâce à une température élevée du Canal et de bonnes conditions environnantes que le cyclone Fanele s'intensifie rapidement. Premier cyclone de la saison et malheureusement premier également a frapper durement la grande île en la traversant Ouest en Est.
On January 17, the JTWC identified a rapidly organizing tropical low just of the coast of Madagascar, near Antananarivo, in the Mozambique Channel. The system showed signs of a quickly developing surface low, and evidence of an upper-level Anticyclone creating a favorable environment for the system. Later that day, the JTWC assessed the possibility of the system becoming a tropical cyclone in 24 hours as Poor. As the system continued to organize, the JTWC issued a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert early the next morning. Soon afterward, the RSMC La Reunion designated the system as Tropical Disturbance 07. The system was predicted to organize at regular speed and remain quasi-stationary within the next 24 hours and then recurve toward the Malagasy coast as a moderate tropical storm. Six hours later, the RSMC La Reunion upgraded the system to Tropical Depression 07. The next day, the tropical depression was upgraded to Moderate Tropical Storm Fanele and the JTWC upgraded it to Tropical Cyclone 09S. Later that day, Fanele continued to rapidly organize as it strengthened into a Severe Tropical Storm. Late on January 19, Fanele strengthened into a high-end Tropical Cyclone. It strengthened into an Intense Tropical Cyclone on the morning of January 20 with an intensity of 100 knot winds. Fanele made landfall between 00:00 am â 02:00 am UTC on January 21 and weakened to a Category 1 with 75 knot winds. Early in the morning of January 22, Fanele weakened to tropical depression as it exited into the Indian Ocean. It restrengthed back into a Moderate Tropical Storm, but it became extratropical the next day.
At least eight people were killed, two were left missing, and over 20,000 others were left homeless due to Fanele.
