Tropical Cyclone Raja was a severe tropical cyclone that hit the South Pacific in December 1986. It was first noted as a weak tropical disturbance northeast of Tokelau in mid-December. The system developed further as it moved southwest, and it was named on 23 December. Raja reached hurricane strength on 26 December, as it slowed and began to interact with what would become Severe Tropical Cyclone Sally. It affected the main islands of Fiji twice between 24 and 30 December, and caused extensive damage to crops, coastal installations and buildings.
About Cyclone Raja in brief
Tropical Cyclone Raja was a severe tropical cyclone that hit the South Pacific in December 1986. It was first noted as a weak tropical disturbance northeast of Tokelau in mid-December. The system developed further as it moved southwest, and it was named on 23 December. Raja reached hurricane strength on 26 December, as it slowed and began to interact with what would become Severe Tropical Cyclone Sally. It passed within 55 km of Futuna and within 20 km of Vanua Levu and several smaller islands in the Lau group on 28 December. The storm weakened over the next few days, and was last noted on 5 January 1987 after it filled up over the north Tasman Sea. It caused one death as it impacted the island nations of Tuvalu, Wallis and Futuna, Tonga and Fiji. It also caused the worst flood of the Labasa River since 1929. As a result of the damage to Fiji and portions of Polynesia, the name Raja has been retired from the SouthPacific naming lists. It is still listed as a tropical depression on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale. It holds the 24-hour rainfall record of 674. 9 mm for the French Overseas Territory of Wallis & Futuna. It has also been named for the first time as a Category 3 severe tropicalcyclone on the Australian tropical cyclones intensity scale, with 10-minute sustained winds of 150 kmh. It became a subtropical depression during January 1, 1987, and passed under a jet stream before degenerating into a part of the Pacific typhoon force wind zone on January 2.
It then weakened into a tropical storm on January 3, 1987. The tropical storm is no longer listed by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology or the National Oceanographic and Meteorological Service. It remains the only storm to have been named after a South Pacific cyclone in the 1980s and 1990s, and the only one to be so named in the 21st century. The name “Raja” is still used by the FMS and the U.S. Naval Western Oceanography Center for advisories on tropical cyclonic systems in the Pacific Ocean. The FMS estimated that Raja had peaked with 10 minute sustained wind speeds of 150 kmh on 28 December. It affected the main islands of Fiji twice between 24 and 30 December, and caused extensive damage to crops, coastal installations and buildings on the island ofTuvalu. The island of Fut Luna was the worst hit, with crops and coastal installations damaged or destroyed by the system. It turned southwest the next day and threatened Fiji, where it passed within 20 km of Vanua Levu and near several smaller islands in the Lau group during the following day. In response to a trough of low pressure developing over the south Pacific, Raja turned southwest and passed over the Lau Group on 29 December.
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This page is based on the article Cyclone Raja published in Wikipedia (as of Nov. 05, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
