The 2001–02 South Pacific cyclone season was a below-average year in which only five named storms formed or entered the South Pacific basin. It began on November 1, 2001 and ended on April 30, 2002. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the southern Pacific Ocean east of 160°E. Additionally, the regional tropical cyclone operational plan defines a tropical cyclone year separately from a tropical cyclone season, and the "tropical cyclone year" runs from July 1, 2001 to June 30, 2002. The season's sixteen tropical depressions existed within these dates with the first developing on November 29 and the last dissipating on April 22. The South Pacific Basin, as defined by the World Meteorological Organization, is split into two sub-areas, monitored by separate agencies. The first area is between 160°E and 120°W and north of 25°S are monitored by the Fiji Meteorological Service (FMS) in Nadi. Those that move south of 25°S are monitored by the Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre in Wellington, New Zealand. At the start of the season, a new naming policy was introduced by the Tropical Cyclone Committee for the South Pacific and South- East Indian Ocean. The policy stated that a storm attaining gale-force winds in only one quadrant near its center would be named by the Fiji Meteorological Service. This is in contrast to the previous policy in which gale-force winds had to completely surround the center to be named. Throughout the season, a shift in the Hadley Circulation towards the Tasman Sea resulted in more frequent episodes of strong wind shear and regular pulses of dry air into the deep tropics, significantly hindering tropical cyclogenesis. The below-average activity was also reflected in an unusually low number of damaging storms. Only two systems, Trina and Waka, had significant effects on land. The former caused extensive flooding on Mangaia while the latter was regarded as one of the most damaging storms in the history of Tonga. Approximately $51.3 million in damage was attributed to Waka as well as an indirect fatality, the only tropical cyclone-related death of the year, due to cardiac arrest. Seasonal summary During the 2001–02 South Pacific cyclone season, only five tropical cyclones and two severe tropical cyclones formed or entered the region. These numbers are substantially below the seasonal average of nine tropical cyclones and four to five severe tropical cyclones. This continued an