The 2000–01 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season was a fairly quiet season with only five named storms, although there was an additional unnamed tropical storm and two subtropical cyclones with gale-force winds. It started early, with a tropical disturbance forming on August 1 – the first day of the cyclone year. However, the first named storm, Ando, was not named until January 2, which at the time was the 4th latest on record. Ando would become the most intense cyclone of the year, reaching peak winds of 195 km/h (120 mph) according to the Météo-France office (MFR) on Réunion, the official Regional Specialized Meteorological Center for the basin. The agency tracked storms south of the equator and west of 90°E to the east coast of Africa. In addition to being the strongest storm, Cyclone Ando was one of two deadly storms during the season. It passed about 205 km (105 mi) west of Réunion, producing of rainfall in the mountainous peaks. The rains led to flooding that killed two people. Ando was one of three storms to attain tropical cyclone status – winds of at least 120 km/h (75 mph) – in the month of January. The others were Bindu, which alternated its trajectory several times over open waters, and Charly, which rapidly weakened after encountering hostile wind shear. The next storm to form was Tropical Cyclone Dera, which intensified near Mozambique in early March and killed two people there due to flooding rains. It later moved southward through the Mozambique Channel, maintaining its intensity unusually far to the south before becoming extratropical. There was a month of inactivity in March, including three weeks in which there were no storms worldwide, the first such instance. Subsequently, two storms formed in early April; one was a small, unnamed tropical storm, and the other was Severe Tropical Storm Evariste, which brought light rainfall to two islands. The season ended with an unusual subtropical storm forming rapidly in the southern Mozambique Channel on June 19, the only such storm to form in that body of water in the month. It became the strongest storm on record for so late in the season, although it weakened without affecting land, dissipating on June 24. Season summary During the season, the Météo-France office (MFR) on Réunion island issued warnings in tropical cyclones within the basin. The agency estimated intensity through the Dvorak technique, and warned on