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Cyclones in Vanuatu

Cyclones occurfrequently in Vanuatu. On average, they happen about 8 times a year. The hardest hit regions are Tafea and Sanma.

The typical cyclone season depends on the summer monsoon. In the months before (May to June) and after (October to November), the most severe storms occur.

The most severe cyclone to make landfall in Vanuatu in the past 12 months was »Kevin«. It reached a wind speed of up to 194 km/h on March 4, 2023 at 5:00 am local time near Isangel and was 13 kilometers in diameter at the time. According to the internationally accepted Saffir-Simpson classification, this corresponded to a category 3 cyclone. On the open sea, speeds of up to 248 km/h were measured (category 4).

Other natural hazards in Vanuatu:
Volcanoes
Earthquakes
Tsunamis
The most severe cyclones in the world


Back to overview: Vanuatu

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04.06.2023 © CIMSS University of Wisconsin-Madison

Most violent cyclones in Vanuatu since 2018

Kevin: March 1-6, 2023

Wind speed:
max. 248 km/h
on land:
max. 194 km/h
Diameter:
max. 963 km
Air pressure:
below 918 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 4
Affected regions
Sanma
Shefa
Tafea

Judy: February 27-28, 2023

Wind speed:
max. 156 km/h
Diameter:
max. 404 km
Air pressure:
below 964 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 2
Affected regions
Torba
Sanma
Malampa
Shefa

Judy: February 27 to March 4, 2023

Wind speed:
max. 165 km/h
on land:
max. 65 km/h
Diameter:
max. 1148 km
Air pressure:
below 959 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 2
Affected regions
Torba
Tafea

Hale: January 6-8, 2023

Wind speed:
max. 83 km/h
Diameter:
max. 759 km
Air pressure:
below 992 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
tropical storm
The cyclone did not make direct landfall in Vanuatu. On January 8th, 2023 at 11:00 am it had the shortest distance at about 279 km southeast of Isangel in Tafea.
Instead, the first landfall occurred near Nouméa in New Caledonia on January 8th at 8:00 am.

Dovi: February 9-12, 2022

Wind speed:
max. 165 km/h
on land:
max. 83 km/h
Diameter:
max. 241 km
Air pressure:
below 956 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 2
Affected regions
Tafea

Dovi: February 7-12, 2022

Wind speed:
max. 167 km/h
on land:
max. 65 km/h
Air pressure:
below 942 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 2
Affected regions
Tafea

Niran: March 1-7, 2021

Wind speed:
max. 256 km/h
Diameter:
max. 222 km
Eye:
max. 37 km
Air pressure:
below 917 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 5
The cyclone did not make direct landfall in Vanuatu. On March 6th, 2021 at 5:00 pm it had the shortest distance at about 438 km southeast of Isangel in Tafea.
Instead, the first landfall occurred near Bourail in New Caledonia on March 6th at 2:00 pm.

Niran: February 27 to March 7, 2021

Wind speed:
max. 250 km/h
on land:
max. 180 km/h
Diameter:
max. 700 km
Eye:
max. 37 km
Air pressure:
below 921 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 4
Affected regions
Tafea

Lucas: January 31 to February 4, 2021

Wind speed:
max. 119 km/h
Diameter:
max. 222 km
Air pressure:
below 980 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
tropical storm
The cyclone did not make direct landfall in Vanuatu. On February 3rd, 2021 at 2:00 am it had the shortest distance at about 159 km east of Isangel in Tafea.
Instead, the first landfall occurred near Fayaou in New Caledonia on February 2nd at 11:00 pm.

Ana: January 28 to February 3, 2021

Wind speed:
max. 120 km/h
on land:
max. 46 km/h
Diameter:
max. 778 km
Air pressure:
below 970 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 1
Affected regions
Shefa

Bina: January 29 to February 1, 2021

Wind speed:
max. 93 km/h
on land:
max. 56 km/h
Diameter:
max. 704 km
Air pressure:
below 988 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
tropical storm
Affected regions
Sanma
Torba

Lucas: January 29 to February 4, 2021

Wind speed:
max. 115 km/h
on land:
max. 93 km/h
Diameter:
max. 907 km
Air pressure:
below 975 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
tropical storm
Affected regions
Shefa
Tafea

Yasa: December 12-19, 2020

Wind speed:
max. 256 km/h
Diameter:
max. 259 km
Air pressure:
below 914 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 5
The cyclone did not make direct landfall in Vanuatu. On December 14th, 2020 at 8:00 pm it had the shortest distance at about 378 km northwest of Port-Vila in Shefa.

Yasa: December 11-21, 2020

Wind speed:
max. 254 km/h
on land:
max. 56 km/h
Diameter:
max. 796 km
Eye:
max. 74 km
Air pressure:
below 916 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 5
Affected regions
Torba

Harold: April 1-11, 2020

Wind speed:
max. 278 km/h
on land:
max. 263 km/h
Diameter:
max. 3741 km
Eye:
max. 56 km
Air pressure:
below 903 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 5
Affected regions
Sanma
Malampa
Shefa

Gretel: March 13-19, 2020

Wind speed:
max. 115 km/h
Diameter:
max. 993 km
Air pressure:
below 971 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
tropical storm
The cyclone did not make direct landfall in Vanuatu. On March 16th, 2020 at 2:00 am it had the shortest distance at about 203 km southeast of Isangel in Tafea.
Instead, the first landfall occurred near Poum in New Caledonia on March 15th at 2:00 pm.

Uesi: February 6-17, 2020

Wind speed:
max. 143 km/h
on land:
max. 69 km/h
Diameter:
max. 852 km
Eye:
max. 37 km
Air pressure:
below 969 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 1
Affected regions
Sanma

Tino: January 15-20, 2020

Wind speed:
max. 157 km/h
on land:
max. 46 km/h
Diameter:
max. 963 km
Air pressure:
below 956 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 2
Affected regions
Torba

Rita: November 22-29, 2019

Wind speed:
max. 130 km/h
Diameter:
max. 630 km
Eye:
max. 56 km
Air pressure:
below 980 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 1
The cyclone did not make direct landfall in Vanuatu. On November 27th, 2019 at 2:00 pm it had the shortest distance at about 119 km northwest of Lakatoro in Malampa.

Oma: February 11-28, 2019

Wind speed:
max. 139 km/h
Diameter:
max. 3741 km
Eye:
max. 111 km
Air pressure:
below 968 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 1
Affected regions
Malampa
Sanma
Tafea
Shefa


These evaluations are based on data from the National Centers for Environmental Information of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Individual data have been summarized or translated.
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