Name: Karl Hoarau
E-mail: Khoarau@aol.com
Age: 41
Occupation: Teacher at the University of Cergy-Pontoise near Paris
Lives: in Créteil (near Paris)


I already was fascinated by Tropical Cyclones since I was very young.  I lived my first TC in Reunion 
Island when I was 3 yrs. old.  It was TC Denise which passed over the island in January 1966.  The 
minimum pressure and the gusts reached 970 hPa and 97 nœuds, respectively.  This TC still keeps the 
known world record for a 24 h rain period with 1825 mm observed at Foc-Foc station (2250 m in altitude).  

In January 1993, once again, I have experienced hurricane-force winds in association with TC Colina 
(gusts of 103 kt).

In 1996, with my brother Jean Paul we went to chase typhoons in the Philippines.  But Supertyphoon 
Sally passed just 100 km northward from « our hotel » at Aparri (North of Luzon).  My last TC was 
Typhoon Babs which hit South of Luzon on October 21, 1998.  My personal barometer recorded 950 hPa 
after a correction with Naga Airport.  I was in the southern part of the eyewall.  

Meanwhile, I did a Ph.D (in 1994) on Tropical Cyclones in the South-West Indian Ocean with a part 
about risks and damages in Reunion Island.  I continue personal research on the following topics: 
the maximum potential intensity of TC depending on thresholds of ocean temperature, intense and 
extreme TC, and TC intensity estimation.

As a Geographer, I try to take time to travel.  I lived in Australia (Cairns) from January to July 
1998 before going to the Philippines until January 1999.  Then, I came back to France where I teach 
Geography. 

I went to San Diego (2002) and to Miami (2004) for the AMS conference about the hurricanes. 
Currently, I am dealing with the very intense super typhoons in the WPAC to reanalyze the 
intensity.