Fifteen years of progress and achievement of the WMO Tropical Cyclone Programme (1980-1994).

Tropical cyclones and their effects -- The origins of the WMO Tropical Cyclone Programme -- Developments, activities and achievements -- Programme evaluation and impact -- A look to the future

In response to a series of United Nations General Assembly resolutions calling for international action to address the problems of the all-too-frequent major disasters caused by tropical cyclones, the WMO Congress expanded and upgraded its Tropical Cyclone Project to become the WMO Tropical Cyclone Programme (TCP) from 1980. This anniversary report gives an overview of the remarkable progress and achievement of the TCP over the past fifteen years. It further takes a look at evaluations of the programme and its humanitarian, social and economic impact. Concludes with a look at the prospects for the years ahead. It points to the potential of the TCP to increasingly help in the mitigation of tropical cyclone disasters, thus paving the way for sustainable development and contributing substantially to the attainment of the goals of the United Nations International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (1990-1999) for a safer world, protected from the ravages of natural disasters