Cyclone Melissa was a category 5 tropical cyclone that made landfall on the northern coast of the Georgeland island state of Bradmarch on the morning of Friday, December 7, 2007. The cyclone caused enormous devastation to the island's north coast and threatened to hit the state capital, Sergiocitta, before moving back out to sea. The towns of Colhampton and St. Thomas were almost totally destroyed by the force of the cyclone.
Satellite image of Cyclone Melissa making landfall, 7 December 2007
The cyclone was the largest ever to hit Georgeland and the first tropical storm to hit the archipelago since 1985.
The storm formed over the northern Indian Ocean and was first detected as a "severe" storm on the evening of December 4 by both the Georgeland Office of Meterology and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. Initially, the storm moved towards Western Australia and Christmas Island but on December 5 quickly changed direction and headed directly for northern Georgeland. Meteorologists expected the storm to continue through the tropical regions and move north towards Bangladesh but instead the storm contined towards Bradmarch, finally hitting the coast on December 7 at 7:44 am.
Initially described as a Category 4 cyclone, the storm was upgraded to a Category 5, the largest and most destructive form of tropical cyclone, at approximately 4 am on the 7th of December, less than four hours before it made landfall.