steering the cyclone westwards. Bessi reached its first peak intensity of on 28 November while located west-northwest of Cocos Islands. It weakened thereafter as it moved into an area of high vertical wind shear. Bessi moved to the south-southeast on 29 November, then curved to the west on 30 November while weakening to . It moved west of 90°E, entering La Réunion's area of responsibility, and was renamed Tropical Storm Bako. Cyclone Bessi-Bako later reached its peak intensity of 65 knots as estimated by Météo-France; see 2001–02 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season. Tropical Cyclone Bernie A weak tropical low developed in the Gulf of Carpentaria northeast of Nhulunbuy, Northern Territory on 30 December. It moved slowly to the south and intensified to Tropical Cyclone Bernie on 3 January. It peaked in intensity early the next day as a Category 2 cyclone, with wind gusts reaching . Bernie was moving to the southwest and started to weaken, before crossing the coast near the borderline between Queensland and Northern Territory early on 5 January as a Category 1 cyclone. It weakened to a rain depression shortly after and continued to move southwards into the Barkly district on 6 January. Early on 4 January, Bernie was close to making landfall over Mornington Island, and cyclone warnings were declared between the Northern Territory border and Kowanyama in Queensland. However, the cyclone warnings were shifted to the west later in the day for areas between Port McArthur in the Northern Territory and the Gilbert-Einasleigh River mouth in Queensland. As the cyclone neared the island, many residents in Mornington Island were moved to a more secure shelter. A few hours later, residents between Port McArthur and Karumba, Queensland were warned of a dangerous storm surge associated with Bernie. Mornington Island recorded more than of precipitation in a 24‑hour period and experienced gusts of . A few houses in the island lost power. However, only light damages occurred, and there were no casualties on the island. The town of Karumba also experienced heavy damage, with the storm surge damaging the beach. The towns Burketown and Doomadgee in Queensland were isolated for two weeks due to flooded roads. Pastoralists in the Gulf country were anticipating high rainfall from Bernie, but only received low rainfall. Further south in Roma, Queensland, the rains helped lift up the prices in the cattle market. People in inland areas of the Gulf country