text: cyclone keli severe tropical cyclone keli ( npmoc / jtwc designation : ) was the first recorded post - season tropical cyclone to form in june within the south pacific ocean . the system formed on june 7 , 1997 , about 460 kilometers ( 285 mi ) to the north of tokelau . the depression gradually developed over the next few days while moving southwestward . it was designated as tropical cyclone keli early the next day . cyclone keli intensified , slowly reaching its 10 - minute peak wind speeds of 150 km / h , ( 90 mph ) , which made it a category 3 severe tropical cyclone on the australian tropical cyclone intensity scale . as it came under the influence of strong mid latitude westerlies and moved into an area of strong vertical wind shear , the cyclone started to weaken and was declared as extratropical on june 15 . cyclone keli struck the islands of tuvalu on june 12 and 13 , with extensive damage reported throughout the islands with trees uprooted by wind and waves . on nivalakita all buildings except for the church were flattened ; an estimated cost to rebuild all of the houses as they were before the cyclone hit was estimated at a $ 12 thousand ( us $ 10 thousand ) , while it was estimated that the cost of rebuilding the houses with an improved , cyclone - resistant design would be about a $ 84 thousand ( us $ 63 thousand ) . the whole of was left uninhabitable , as coconut trees and other vegetation were swept away with no more than an area of jagged coral left behind . in fiji , strong winds and rough seas were reported from the cyclone as it was moving to the north of fiji , and while the cyclone was weakening it dropped 3 . 76 inches ( ) of rain on american samoa . meteorological history severe tropical cyclone keli was first noted as a depression , to the northeast of the new zealand territory of tokelau during june 7 , 1997 . over the next couple of days the system moved towards the south - west and gradually developed further , with the united states naval pacific meteorology and oceanography center ( npmoc ) issuing a tropical cyclone formation alert for the system during june 9 . the npmoc subsequently designated the system as tropical cyclone and initiated advisories on the system early on june 10 , while the system was located about 475 km ( 295 mi ) to the east of funafuti , tuvalu . the system was subsequently named keli by the fiji meteorological service , after it had developed into a category 1 tropical cyclone on the australian tropical cyclone intensity scale . during that day the system continued to move south - westwards , towards the island nation of tuvalu and passed near or over the island of niulakita during june 11 . after it the system had passed over niulakita , keli rapidly intensified in an area of light vertical wind shear , as it moved slowly and performed a small cyclonic loop . early on june 12 , the fms reported that keli had peaked as a category 3 severe tropical cyclone , with 10 - minute sustained windspeeds of 150 km / h ( 90 mph ) . during that day the system started to weaken and came to within 65 km ( 40 mi ) of making a second landfall on niulakita , before it accelerated south - eastwards as it interacted with the westerlies . the npmoc also reported during that day that keli had peaked with 1 - minute sustained wind speeds of 215 km / h ( 130 mph ) , which made it equivalent to a category 4 hurricane on the saffir - simpson hurricane wind scale . during june 13 , the system continued to move south - eastwards and passed about 50 km ( 30 mi ) to the southeast of mata - utu in the island nation of wallis and futuna . later that day keli started to transition into an extratropical cyclone , during the following day the system passed within 200 km ( 125 mi ) of apia , samoa . during june 15 , the fms reported that keli had weakened into a tropical depression , while the npmoc reported that it had degenerated into an extratropical cyclone . the system was subsequently last noted during june 17 , while it was located about 2 , 140 km ( 1 , 330 mi ) to the southeast of adamstown in the pitcairn islands . impact and aftermath heavy rain was reported in american samoa with a rainfall total , of 160 mm ( 6 . 3 in ) reported at in american samoa . the name keli was retired after this usage of the name and was replaced with the name kofi . tuvalu keli was the third and final tropical cyclone to impact tuvalu during the 1996 - 97 season , after severe tropical cyclone 's gavin and hina affected the island nation during march 1997 . ahead of the system impacting tuvalu , storm and gale force wind warnings were issued for the islands of niulakita and , while a strong wind warning was issued for the rest of the group during june 10 . during that day the system moved south - westwards and passed near or over niulakita later that day , before it performed a cyclonic loop and passed within 65 km ( 40 mi ) of niulakita during june 12 . as cyclone keli struck the islands of tuvalu on june 12 and 13 , peak wind gusts of 165 km / h , ( 105 mph ) were reported , with extensive damage also reported throughout the islands with trees uprooted by wind and waves . on nivalakita all buildings except for the church were flattened with an estimated cost to rebuild the houses exactly as they were was estimated at a $ 12 , 000 ( us $ 10 , 000 1997 ) , while it was estimated that the cost of rebuilding the houses with an improved , cyclone - resistant design would be about a $ 84 , 000 ( 63 , 000 usd 1997 ) . also on nivalakita communications were cut with the telephone operator having to resort to sending a morse code message , however as the storm re - curved and re - hit tuvalu on june 14 , it silenced the weak radio telegraph system . in the whole island was left uninhabitable as coconut trees and other vegetation were swept away with no more than an area of jagged coral left behind . with effect from june 12 , a state of public emergency was declared for the whole of tuvalu , by the then governor - general of tuvalu , sir . this was because there was only a limited amount of food available on funafuti to cater for the whole of the island nation , while providing niulakita with immediate relief supplies . this enabled the tuvaluan embassy in suva , fiji to appeal to various overseas countries and organisations including australia , new zealand , the united kingdom and the united nations development programme to provide aid and assistance to the island nation . during june 14 , the royal new zealand air force deployed a transport plane carrying some relief materials including tarpaulins and water from new zealand . the plane subsequently stopped in noumea , new caledonia and nadi , fiji to pick up further relief supplies that had been donated by australia , fiji and france . the crew of the plane subsequently conducted an aerial assessment of the damage on niulakita , and reported seeing widespread damage , before they arrived at funafuti airport during june 15 . wallis and futuna cyclone keli was the third out of four tropical cyclones to impact the french territory of wallis and futuna during a ten - month period , after cyclones gavin and hina had affected the island during march 1997 . there was almost no damage recorded in the from keli , while rainfall totals of 171 . 6 mm ( 6 . 76 in ) and 160 mm ( 6 . 3 in ) were recorded at hihifo and aka on wallis during june 11 . wind gusts of up to 70 km / h ( 45 mph ) were recorded at maopoopo on futuna island during july 13 . tonga keli was the second of three tropical cyclones to affect tonga during a ten - month period , with cyclones hina and ron affecting the island nation during march 1997 and january 1998 . ahead of the system impacting tonga , the fms issued cyclone warnings for the niuas and strong wind warnings for the rest of tonga . as a result of the warnings a vessel that was heading to the island group had to be recalled , which was predicted to affect supplies on the islands when it was likely to be most needed . during june 13 , keli caused some damage to the islands with plantations , breadfruit trees and other large trees devastated . the strong winds also destroyed several residences while causing damage to public buildings .