Cyclone Rewa affected six countries and killed 22 people on its 28-day journey across the South Pacific Ocean in December 1993 and January 1994. It developed from a tropical disturbance on 28 December while situated south of Nauru. Crossing from the South Pacific basin into the Australian region, the system strengthened steadily as it paralleled the eastern Australian coast. Rewa initially peaked in intensity as a Category 4 tropical cyclone on 2 January, then weakened and returned to the South Pacific basin. Rewa re-entered the Australian basin on 10 January and reintensified to Category 5 severe tropical cyclone status by 17 January. Rewa transitioned into an extratropical cyclone on 20 January, with its remnants bringing heavy rain to New Zealand. Nine people in a banana dinghy en route to Rossel Island were presumed drowned after wreckage from their boat was found. In Queensland, three people were killed in traffic accidents caused by the storm, and another fatality occurred when a boy became trapped in a storm pipe. One death took place in New Caledonia, while flooding caused eight drownings in Papua New Guinea. Following the storm, the name Rewa was retired. (Full article...)
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