As New Year's Day festivities continued around the world, Madagascar was under extremely heavy rainfall, a result of lying in Cyclone Cyprien's menacing path. In this true-color image captured on January 1, 2002, Cyprien had begun to move off the southwestern coast of Madagascar and was progressing towards the eastern coast of Africa. News reports indicate that rainfall totals in much of southern Madagascar surpassed 4 inches, with the small coastal city of Tulear receiving as much as 7 total inches.