The 1973–74 South Pacific cyclone season was an inactive season. In tropical cyclones, it was an average season, but in strength, it was very inactive, with only two severe tropical cyclones.
This storm initially formed as Natalie, then moved into the Australian region on the same day. Later, it moved back into the South Pacific and was renamed Lottie.[1] High seas caused the ship Uluilakeba to capsize killing more than 85 people.[2][3] This makes Lottie one of the deadliest tropical cyclones in region in recent decades.[4]
Rebecca was thought to have had a complex evolution with two low-level circulation centres.[5] It had peak 10-minute sustained windspeeds of 75 km/h (45 mph) and a minimum pressure of 988 hPa (29.18 inHg), before it dissipated during February 28.[5]
^Raicola, Verenaisi (27 March 2007). "Beware the force of nature". The Fiji Times Online. Archived from the original on 8 May 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2023. Perhaps the most tragic of all was the Uluilakeba, which capsized in southern Lau during Cyclone Lottie on December 10, 1973. More than 50 people died in that sea disaster.
^Kalougata, Joeli (October 2004). "The Only Survivor". LDS.org. Archived from the original on 16 March 2008. Retrieved 6 March 2023. Of the approximately 120 passengers who had boarded the doomed ship, 35 were found alive in the water. We were taken to Suva and admitted to the hospital. There, I learned the details of what had happened. Less than four hours after leaving the dock, we had been struck by Cyclone Lottie, a short-lived Pacific storm.
