Cyclone Elita was an unusual tropical cyclone that made landfall on Madagascar three times. Elita developed on January 24 in the Mozambique Channel. It strengthened to become a tropical cyclone before striking northwestern Madagascar on January 28. Elita weakened to tropical depression status while crossing the island, and after exiting into the southwest Indian Ocean it turned to the west and moved ashore for a second time on January 31 in eastern Madagascar. After crossing the island, the cyclone intensified again after reaching the Mozambique Channel, and Elita turned to the southeast to make its final landfall on February 3 along southwestern Madagascar. Elita dropped heavy rainfall of over 200 mm (8 inches), which damaged or destroyed thousands of houses in Madagascar. Over 50,000 people were left homeless, primarily in Mahajanga and Toliara provinces. Flooding from the storm damaged or destroyed more than 450 km2 (170 sq mi) of agricultural land, including important crops for food. Across the island, the cyclone caused at least 33 deaths. Elsewhere, the cyclone brought rainfall and damage to Mozambique and Malawi, while its outer circulation produced rough seas and strong winds in Seychelles, Mauritius, and Réunion.
Read the rest of this article: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclone_Elita> _______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries: 1277: Étienne Tempier, Bishop of Paris, promulgated a Condemnation of 219 philosophical and theologica] propositions that were being discussed at the University of Paris. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89tienne_Tempier> 1887: The North Carolina General Assembly established North Carolina State University , today the largest university in North Carolina, as a land grant institution. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Carolina_State_University> 1968: Vietnam War: The United States and South Vietnam began Operation Truong Cong Dinh to sweep the area surrounding the Mekong Delta town of My Tho to root out Viet Cong forces in the area. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Truong_Cong_Dinh> 1985: The charity single "We Are the World" by the supergroup USA for Africa was released, and would go on to sell over 20 million copies. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Are_the_World> 2009: Two off-duty soldiers of the British Army's 38 Engineer Regiment were shot dead by the Real IRA in Antrim town, Northern Ireland. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Massereene_Barracks_shooting> _____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day: phillumenist (n): A person who collects match-related items, like matchbox labels, matchboxes, matchbooks, or matchbook covers <http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/phillumenist> ___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day: I have gained this by philosophy: that I do without being commanded what others do only from fear of the law. --Aristotle <http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Aristotle> _______________________________________________ Wikipedia Daily Article mailing list. To unsubscribe, visit: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/daily-article-l Questions or comments? Contact [email protected]
