 In late January 1994 , the south Indian Ocean Intertropical Convergence Zone produced widespread convection from the eastern coast of Africa to Indonesia . Late on January 25 , the Joint Typhoon Warning Center ( JTWC ) began monitoring a low @-@ pressure area about halfway between Madagascar and Indonesia , later giving it the designation " 13S " . The following day , the Météo @-@ France on Réunion ( MFR ) classified the system as a tropical disturbance . By that time , the system had developed an organized area of convection with curved rainbands and was strengthening quickly ; early on January 28 , it developed a central dense overcast . In response , MFR upgraded the system to Moderate Tropical Storm Geralda . At that time , the storm was moving generally west @-@ southwestward due to a ridge extending from Madagascar to the Mascarene Islands . High water temperatures fueled further development , first into a moderate tropical storm late on January 28 and then into a tropical cyclone 24 hours later . By then , the JTWC had upgraded Geralda to the equivalent of a minimal hurricane . 
