Cyclone Gamede

Intense Tropical Cyclone Gamede was among the wettest tropical cyclones on record, dropping more than 5.5 m (18 ft) of rain in a nine-day period on Réunion island in the southwest Indian Ocean. The seventh named storm of the 2006–07 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season, Gamede formed south of Diego Garcia on February 19 as a tropical disturbance. It tracked generally westward and steadily intensified, reaching tropical cyclone status on February 23. For two days, Gamede stalled northwest of the Mascarene Islands as an intense tropical cyclone, during which it reached 10 minute maximum sustained winds of winds of 165 km/h (105 mph), according to the Météo-France meteorological office in Réunion (MFR). The American-based Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) estimated peak 1 minute winds of 195 km/h (120 mph), equivalent to a Category 3 on the Saffir–Simpson scale. For four days, Gamede remained within 400 km (250 mi) of Réunion before accelerating southward. On March 2, Gamede transitioned into an extratropical cyclone to the southeast of Madagascar. The MFR tracked the storm for four more days.

Cyclone Gamede first passed near St. Brandon, where its 160 km/h (100 mph) wind gusts damaged a few windows. When the storm stalled for a few days, it resulted in a prolonged period of heavy rainfall and high tides for the Mascarene Islands. A pluviometer at Commerson Crater recorded worldwide record rainfall amounts over a period of 3–9 days, with a total of 5,512 mm (217.0 in). Only Cyclone Hyacinthe in 1980 had a higher recorded rainfall total. The deluge from Gamede caused flooding damage across Réunion, washing out a bridge in the southern portion of the island. Monetary damage on Réunion was estimated at over €165 million (US$120 million). Two people each were killed on Réunion and nearby Mauritius. The storm's outer rainbands affected southeastern Madagascar, becoming the fourth tropical cyclone to affect the country in two months. Later, high waves from Gamede flooded coastal portions of the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal.