text: cyclone erica severe tropical cyclone erica ( rsmc nadi designation : 10f , jtwc designation : 23p ) of march 2003 was a powerful cyclone that severely affected new caledonia and was considered the worst to affect the country since cyclone beti . the system was the eighth cyclone and the fifth severe tropical cyclone of the 2002 - 03 south pacific cyclone season . cyclone erica developed from a monsoonal trough on 4 march just off of queensland . originally , the storm moved slowly towards the east and then north early in its existence . however , increasing wind shear caused the storm to be degenerated into a tropical low . after conditions once again became more favorable for development , the remnants regenerated into a tropical cyclone on 10 march . steadily intensifying , erica reached peak intensity on 13 march as a category 5 equivalent on the saffir – simpson hurricane scale . on the same day erica paralleled the coast of new caledonia before making landfall on the southern end of the island at l 'île - des - pins . however , at the same time the cyclone also entered an area with strong wind shear and thus began to weaken . after passing the island , an extratropical transition begun , weakening the cyclone as it moved towards the southeast . on 15 march , erica completed its transition into an extratropical cyclone and later fully dissipated the next day . cyclone erica severely impacted the island nation of new caledonia , causing intense winds and heavy rain . an estimated 892 families were affected by the cyclone on the island , and two people were killed . as many as 60 % of people on the west coast lost power . on 17 march only 17 of the 66 secondary schools on the island were functioning . after the storm it was feared that the existing dengue fever epidemic on the island would spread . erica caused $ 15 million ( 2003 usd ) in damages , primarily on new caledonia . following the deaths and damage , the name " erica " was later retired . meteorological history the origins of cyclone erica can be traced back to a tropical low which developed within a monsoonal trough near the tiwi islands on 13 february . two days later , the low moved inland near the western australia – northern territory border . after passing south of alice springs , the low turned east and entered the coral sea on 3 march 2003 . strong wind shear separated the convection from the system at the time . however , shear quickly weakened the next day . with the lower shear , the low was able to intensify and at 0630 utc on 4 march , the joint typhoon warning center ( jtwc ) issued a tropical cyclone formation alert . despite the center of the storm being elongated , conditions for further development were present . at 0600 utc the bureau of meteorology in australia upgraded the low to a category 1 cyclone and gave it the name erica . as erica moved towards the south and subsequently to the north , the cyclone strengthened , becoming equivalent to a tropical storm according to the jtwc by 1500 utc on 5 march . erica later attained maximum sustained winds of 105 km / h ( 65 mph 1 - minute sustained ) . however the system began to move against the direction of the wind shear environment , and it lost much of its organization . on 7 march at 2230 utc , erica lost cyclone status and degenerated into a tropical low . the remnant circulation moved slowly to the northeast , and the wind shear conditions abated . as a result , erica began to gain some signs of organization . at this time the remnants moved towards the southeast as a result of an upper – level trough developing over australia . the area of low pressure gained sufficient shower activity and organization to be renamed as a tropical cyclone at 1800 utc on 10 march while located southwest of the solomon islands capital of honiara . erica gradually intensified , attaining the equivalent to a category 1 hurricane on the saffir – simpson hurricane scale ( sshs ) originally moving to the southeast at a slow pace , erica began to accelerate due to the influence of weak mid – level ridge to its east . continuing to intensify , the cyclone reached its peak intensity on 13 march with a minimum barometric pressure of 915 mbar ( 27 . 0 inhg ) , and peak winds of 260 km / h ( 150 mph 1 - minute sustained ) . the eye of the cyclone began to shrink in diameter and become symmetrical . later on 13 march , erica began to parallel the western coast of new caledonia while maintaining a strong intensity , before crossing the extreme southern end of the island at the caledonian island commune of l 'île - des - pins . after passing the island , erica accelerated and began to rapidly weaken in the presence of strong wind shear . as a result , the cyclone began a phase of extratropical transition as it quickly paced to the southeast . on 15 march , erica completed this transition . the remnant low continued to the east – southeast , before the meteorological service of new zealand limited office at wellington , new zealand ( tcwc wellington ) issued their last advisory on erica at 1800 utc on 16 march . preparations , impact , and aftermath australia as a tropical low , erica brought strong winds to northern queensland . several large trees were uprooted , one of which fell on a car in cape tribulation and another on a house in port douglas . numerous trees were defoliated and some boats were reported to have been pulling their moorings due to the wind . power lines were also damaged by the low . new caledonia on 12 march , officials in new caledonia issued a pre - alert as erica was forecast to impact the territory . evacuation centers were set up in churches and community halls . all schools throughout the island were closed and airports were shut down . despite the rapid weakening before landfall , erica produced intense winds , gusting to a record 202 km / h ( 125 mph ) in nouméa . ten - minute sustained winds were recorded up to 144 km / h ( 89 mph ) around the center of the storm . an estimated 892 families were affected by erica , and erica was also reported to have caused two deaths and injured 80 people . in addition 1 , 000 people were estimated to be homeless . several communication lines were severed , and tribes and farms were devastated . 20 % of electricity customers in nouméa were without power , and 60 % of customers on the main island 's west coast were also without power . in , police assessed that half of the population was without shelter , and in , it was estimated that 90 % of the crops were destroyed by erica . on 17 march 2003 , only 17 of the 66 secondary schools in new caledonia were functioning , with others still closed primarily due to safety concerns . the university of new caledonia was also badly damaged . however , all primary schools were functioning . south province , new caledonia formed an emergency committee following the storm , led by jacques lafleur . the committee assisted in filing damage claims caused by the cyclone . after the storm , 60 french specialists were sent to new caledonia to help in rebuilding areas hit hard by erica . ministry of overseas france head brigitte arrived in nouméa on 17 march to investigate the damage . following the visit , brigitte announced that us $ 17 million would be sent to rebuild 1 , 000 homes on the island nation , including an additional us $ 500 , 000 in disaster relief to the island country . a transport aircraft stationed in tahiti brought 1 . 5 short tons ( 1 , 400 kg ) of emergency supplies . following erica 's heavy rains , it was feared that the already existing dengue fever epidemic would become more widespread . prior to erica , there were already 437 cases of dengue fever in 2003 alone . the risk for leptospirosis was also increased by erica . high winds and strong rains resulted in damages of at least us $ 15 million , particularly to schools . two fatalities total were reported as a result of erica . the name erica was retired after the season .