The 2001–02 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season had the earliest named storm since 1992. Many storms formed in the north-east portion of the basin, and several more originated around Australia. The basin is defined as the waters of the Indian Ocean west of longitude 90°E to the coast of Africa and south of the equator. Eleven tropical storms formed, compared to an average of nine. Tropical systems were present during 73 days, which was significantly higher than the average of 58 for this basin. Tropical cyclones in this basin are monitored by the Regional Specialized Meteorological Center (RSMC) in Réunion. The season started on November 1, 2001, and ended on April 30, 2002; for Mauritius and the Seychelles, the season continued until May 15. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the basin; however, storms formed both before and after the designated season. The first storm was Andre, which emerged from the Australian basin as Tropical Cyclone Alex in late October. The strongest storm, Cyclone Hary, was the first very intense tropical cyclone since 2000; it hit Madagascar, where it caused lighter damage than expected but three deaths. In January, Cyclone Dina left heavy damage in the Mascarene Islands, particularly on Réunion, where it dropped of rainfall. The second-to-last storm was Cyclone Kesiny, which killed 33 people when it struck Madagascar in the midst of a political crisis. Season summary Météo-France's meteorological office in Réunion (MFR) is the official Regional Specialized Meteorological Center for the South-West Indian Ocean, tracking all tropical cyclones from the east coast of Africa to 90° E. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC), which is a joint United States Navy – United States Air Force task force that issues tropical cyclone warnings for the region, also issued advisories for storms during the season. Following the season, the start of the tropical cyclone year was changed to July 1, which defines the boundary between tropical cyclone seasons. Although the previous season was tame, the 2001–02 season was very active and featured several intense tropical cyclones. During the season, eleven systems were named, which was slightly above the average of nine. However, nine of the systems attained cyclone intensity, the second highest total in 30 years. In terms of both the number of systems and number of "cyclone days", the season was considered comparable by MFR to the 1993–94 season.