Tropical Cyclone Cempaka was a

tropical cyclone A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Dep ...

that impacted the island of

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mo ...

and

Bali Bali () is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Nu ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

in November 2017. Although it did not make landfall and only developed to a Category 1 tropical cyclone, Cempaka managed to cause 41 deaths, with more than 20,000 people evacuated and causing around US$83.6 million in damages. Cempaka was the fourth cyclone to be registered in Indonesia by the Tropical Cyclone Warning Center of the Indonesian

Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency ( id, Badan Meteorologi, Klimatologi, dan Geofisika, abbreviated BMKG) is an Indonesian non-departmental government agency for meteorology, climatology, and geophysics. History Its history began ...

(BMKG) since 2008 and the first since Cyclone Bakung in 2014. It also came closer to making landfall in that country than any other cyclone on record.

Meteorological history

Cempaka initially developed as a weak tropical low around south of the city of

Surabaya Surabaya ( jv, ꦱꦸꦫꦧꦪ or jv, ꦯꦹꦫꦨꦪ; ; ) is the capital city of the Indonesian province of East Java and the second-largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. Located on the northeastern border of Java island, on the Mad ...

on 22 November as monitored by TCWC Perth and TCWC Jakarta. At 06:00 UTC on 26 November, TCWC Jakarta recorded that the system was located southwest of the city of Cilacap as a tropical depression with a maximum wind speed of 45 km/h (30 mph). Wave heights of across the central and east southern coast of Java were predicted and a warning was issued. A

Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert A Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert (TCFA) is a bulletin released by the U.S. Navy-operated Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Honolulu, Hawaii or the Fleet Weather Center in Norfolk, Virginia, warning of the possibility of a tropical cyclone formi ...

was issued by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center the next morning on 27 November, stating that satellite imagery depicted flaring convection near the center of the system. Several hours later, TCWC Jakarta upgraded the system to a tropical cyclone, giving the name ''Cempaka'' which was then located south-southeast of Cilacap. BMKG warned of heavy rainfall across the island of Java with possible flooding and landslides. On 29 November, Cempaka weakened into a tropical low and turned to the southwest away from Java. It continued moving to the southwest on the following day. TCWC Perth and Jakarta last mentioned Cempaka on 1 December.

Impact

Cyclone Cempaka never made landfall, but the rainfall it brought caused severe flooding and landslides across 28 regencies and cities in Java, mainly along the southern part of the island. Tornadoes were also reported in the area.

Pacitan Pacitan Regency ( id, Kabupaten Pacitan) is a regency located in the southwestern corner of East Java Province, with Central Java Province on its western border. Located between 7.55° - 8.17°S and 110.55° - 111.25°E. The borders of Pacitan Reg ...

received of rain on 27 November while

Yogyakarta Yogyakarta (; jv, ꦔꦪꦺꦴꦒꦾꦏꦂꦠ ; pey, Jogjakarta) is the capital city of Special Region of Yogyakarta in Indonesia, in the south-central part of the island of Java. As the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by a monarchy, ...

received on 28 November, both considered to be "extreme" amounts of daily rainfall by BMKG. On 29 November, the government of Yogyakarta declared an emergency. By 30 November, 26 deaths were reported and more than 14,000 people were evacuated in

Central Java Central Java ( id, Jawa Tengah) is a province of Indonesia, located in the middle of the island of Java. Its administrative capital is Semarang. It is bordered by West Java in the west, the Indian Ocean and the Special Region of Yogyakarta ...

East Java East Java ( id, Jawa Timur) is a province of Indonesia located in the easternmost hemisphere of Java island. It has a land border only with the province of Central Java to the west; the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean border its northern and so ...

, and Yogyakarta according to the Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management (BNPB). Tens of thousands of houses and agricultural lands were flooded. Roads were covered by landslides and bridges were destroyed in border regencies of Central Java and East Java, isolating some remote villages. Indonesians and several politicians took into social media to express their condolences using the hashtag #PrayForPacitan. President

Joko Widodo Joko Widodo (; born 21 June 1961), popularly known as Jokowi, is an Indonesian politician and businessman who is the 7th and current president of Indonesia. Elected in July 2014, he was the first Indonesian president not to come from an elit ...

called the people to "remain vigilant" while relief efforts were being undertaken by the national and local government agencies. The cyclone also changed the direction of ash from Agung Volcano in Bali from eastward toward

Lombok Lombok is an island in West Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia. It forms part of the chain of the Lesser Sunda Islands, with the Lombok Strait separating it from Bali to the west and the Alas Strait between it and Sumbawa to the east. It is ...

to westward across

Banyuwangi Banyuwangi, previously known as Banjoewangi, is the administrative capital of Banyuwangi Regency at the far eastern end of the island of Java, Indonesia. It had a population of 106,000 at the 2010 Census and 117,558 at the 2020 Census. The town ...

and

Jember Jember Regency is a regency of East Java province, Indonesia. The population was 2,332,726 at the 2010 census and 2,536,729 at the 2020 Census. Its administrative capital is the urban area of Jember, which with 359,184 inhabitants in 2020 is t ...

. By early December, BNPB counted that at least 41 people reportedly had died in regards to the cyclone. Victims were spread in Pacitan, Yogyakarta region, Wonogiri, Purworejo, and Wonosobo. More than 28,000 were staying in shelters while the cost of the damages was estimated at Rp1.13 trillion (US$83.6 million).

Rarity

The region of Indonesia is not generally traversed by tropical cyclones, although a lot of systems have historically formed there. Cyclone Cempaka was among the few tropical cyclones in the southern hemisphere which ever struck the region. An analysis of tropical cyclone data from the

Bureau of Meteorology The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM or BoM) is an executive agency of the Australian Government responsible for providing weather services to Australia and surrounding areas. It was established in 1906 under the Meteorology Act, and brought together ...

since 1907 to 2017 found that only around 0.62% of all cyclones in the Australian region during those years occurred north of the 10th parallel south.

References

External links

TCWC Jakarta - BMKG
{{2017–18 Australian region cyclone season buttons

Cempaka ''Magnolia champaca'', known in English as champak (), is a large evergreen tree in the family Magnoliaceae.

Cyclone Cempaka Cempaka 2017 Cempaka 2017