 Cyclone Megh shortly before peak intensity while nearing Socotra on November 7 | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | November 5, 2015 |
| Dissipated | November 10, 2015 |
| Extremely severe cyclonic storm | |
| 3-minute sustained (IMD) | |
| Highest winds | 175 km/h (110 mph) |
| Lowest pressure | 964 hPa (mbar); 28.47 inHg |
| Category 3-equivalent tropical cyclone | |
| 1-minute sustained (SSHWS) | |
| Highest winds | 205 km/h (125 mph) |
| Lowest pressure | 941 hPa (mbar); 27.79 inHg |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 18 total |
| Damage | Unknown |
| Areas affected | Oman, Somalia, Yemen |
| IBTrACS | |
Part of the 2015 North Indian Ocean cyclone season | |
Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm Megh is regarded as the worst tropical cyclone to ever strike the Yemeni island of Socotra, causing additional destruction there after Cyclone Chapala hit the same island.[1] Megh formed on November 5, 2015, in the eastern Arabian Sea, and followed a path similar to Chapala. After moving northward, the cyclone turned to the west, and fueled by warm water temperatures, it quickly intensified. On November 7, the storm developed an eye in the center and began to rapidly intensify into a mature cyclone. By the next day, the India Meteorological Department estimated peak 3 minute sustained winds of 175 km/h (110 mph), and the American-based Joint Typhoon Warning Center estimated 1 minute winds of 205 km/h (125 mph). Shortly thereafter, the cyclone brushed the northern coast of Socotra. The storm steadily weakened thereafter, especially after it skirted the northern Somalia coast. After entering the Gulf of Aden, Megh turned to the west-northwest and struck southwestern Yemen on 10 November as a deep depression, dissipating shortly thereafter.
When Megh passed near Socotra, residents were just beginning to return after the previous cyclone, and many had to evacuate again. Additional heavy rainfall and high winds lashed the island, which destroyed 500 homes and damaged another 3,000. The consecutive storms damaged 785 fishing boats, left 80% of the roads impassible, and caused an island-wide power outage. Megh killed 18 people on Socotra and injured another 60. The heavy damage on the island prompted nearby countries and international organizations to deliver relief goods and medical teams. Later, Megh brought torrential rainfall and high waves to northern Somalia, killing livestock and damaging schools. The storm's final landfall in Yemen marked little rainfall or effects.
- ^ Samenow, Jason. "Unprecedented: Second freak tropical cyclone to strike Yemen in the same week". The Washington Post. Retrieved 4 March 2016.