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The search for Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 has had to be suspended, after a Tropical Cyclone hit the area in which searches were taking place.
The announcement that the storm, Cyclone Jack, would halt Tuesday’s search, came hours after authorities had announced that 10 military aircraft and 10 ships would be helping with Tuesday’s search efforts.
The searches that are taking place in an area about 990 miles northwest of the coast of Perth, were stopped for the day, after those coordinating the search said the cyclone would lead to poor visibility and potentially dangerous conditions for searchers.
“It has been determined that the current weather conditions are resulting in heavy seas and poor visibility, and would make any air search activities ineffective and potentially hazardous,” the Joint Agency Coordination Centre said.
Only four planes were able to set off, but the poor conditions meant any chance of finding evidence of the missing plane were small.
Show all 30 1 /30In pictures: Missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 In pictures: Missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 Chinese relatives A family member of a passenger aboard the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 burns incense as he prays at Yonghegong Lama Temple in Beijing
In pictures: Missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 Chinese relatives Family members of passengers aboard the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 burn incense to pray at Yonghegong Lama Temple in Beijing
In pictures: Missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 Chinese relatives A family member of a passenger aboard the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 comforts another relative as they gather to pray at Yonghegong Lama Temple in Beijing
In pictures: Missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 Chinese relatives Relatives of passengers on missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 cry as they gather at the Lama Temple in Beijing. Chinese relatives marked 100 days since the plane went missing on a flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Beijing by offering prayers and burning incense at the buddhist temple
In pictures: Missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 Chinese relatives Relatives of passengers on missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 offer prayers at the Lama Temple in Beijing
In pictures: Missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 Chinese relatives A Chinese relative of passengers of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 prays at the Lama Temple in Beijing
In pictures: Missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 Chinese relatives Chinese relatives of passengers of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 hold incense sticks and pray at the Lama Temple in Beijing
In pictures: Missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 Malaysian relatives Intan Maizura Othman (34) wife of MH370 fligh attendant Hazrin Hasnan holds placard during an event to remember the 100th day of the missing crews and passengers of Malaysian Airlines plane MH370 in Damansara, Selangor
In pictures: Missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 Malaysian relatives A young relative tries to stick paper planes on a board during an event to remember the 100th day of the missing crews and passengers of Malaysian Airlines plane MH370 in Damansara, Selangor
In pictures: Missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 Malaysian relatives Pictures of crews and passengers is displayed during an event to remember the 100th day of the missing crews and passengers of Malaysian Airlines plane MH370 in Damansara, Selangor
In pictures: Missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 Search for flight MH370 The Phoenix International Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) Artemis is craned over the side of Australian Defence Vessel Ocean Shield in the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH 370. Twenty-six nations have been involved in the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 since it disappeared more than a month ago
In pictures: Missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 Chinese relatives Chinese women, relatives of Chinese passengers onboard the Malaysia Airlines MH370 cry as they wait for Malaysia embassy staff to meet them outside the Malaysia embassy in Beijing. About 50 relatives of Chinese passengers on the plane continued a sit-in protest outside the Malaysian Embassy after officials failed to show up to update them on the search
In pictures: Missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 Chinese relatives A relative of Chinese passengers onboard the Malaysia Airlines MH370 speaks to media as he and others wait for Malaysia embassy staff to meet them outside the Malaysia embassy in Beijing
In pictures: Missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 Chinese relatives Relatives of Chinese passengers onboard the Malaysia Airlines MH370 push through a police line to march to the Malaysian embassy from a hotel in Beijing. Angry relatives who had been waiting for more than 8 hours in vain for a Malaysia embassy representative to attend their daily meeting marched to the Malaysia embassy and protested through the night
In pictures: Missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 Chinese relatives Chinese police men try to prevent relatives of Chinese passengers onboard the Malaysia Airlines MH370 from marching to the Malaysian embassy from a hotel in Beijing
In pictures: Missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 Search for flight MH370 Flying Officer Elizabeth Vonfinster, an Air Combat Officer with No. 2 Squadron sits at her station aboard the RAAF E-7A Wedgetail Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft during its return from another mission in the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 in the southern Indian Ocean
In pictures: Missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 Chinese relatives Wen Wanchang, whose son was on board the Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, cries as he pleads with Malaysian embassy representative Bala Chandran Tharman for answers during a meeting in Beijing
In pictures: Missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 Chinese relatives A relative of a passenger aboard Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 is carried by medical personnel and policemen after collapsing during a briefing Lido Hotel in Beijing
In pictures: Missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 Chinese relatives Relatives of Chinese passengers onboard the Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, cry during a meeting in Beijing
In pictures: Missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 Chinese relatives A relative of Chinese passengers onboard the Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, cries as she asks for answers during a meeting with Malaysia embassy and Malaysia Airlines representatives in Beijing
In pictures: Missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 Chinese relatives A Chinese relative (C) of passengers on the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 reacts as he attends a meeting at the Metro Park Hotel in Beijing
In pictures: Missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 Chinese relatives A relative of Chinese passengers onboard the Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, demands answers from Malaysian representatives at a meeting in Beijing. Relatives chanted slogans and shouted protests against the lack of meaning answers from Malaysian officials and Malaysia Airlines representatives
In pictures: Missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 Chinese relatives A relative of a passenger aboard Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 cries as she speaks to Malaysian representatives during a briefing at Lido Hotel in Beijing. A tropical cyclone was threatening to hamper the search for a missing Malaysian jetliner in a remote stretch of the Indian Ocean, as a submarine drone neared the end of its mission scouring the sea bed with still no sign of wreckage
In pictures: Missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 Chinese relatives A Chinese relative of passengers onboard missing Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight MH370 reacts in front of journalists as she arrives during a briefing at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur. The effort to find missing flight MH370 is at a "very critical juncture", Malaysia's transport minister said as authorities mull whether to reassess a challenging search of the Indian Ocean seabed that has so far found nothing
In pictures: Missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 Search for flight MH370 Commander James Lybrand, Mission Commander ADV Ocean Shield (L) and Chris "Sharkie" Moore, Phoenix team leader, watch the launching of the Phoenix International Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) Artemis as it is craned over the side of Australian Defense Vessel Ocean Shield before launching it in to the southern Indian Ocean in the search of the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370
In pictures: Missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 Search for flight MH370 The Phoenix International Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) Artemis is craned over the side of Australian Defence Vessel Ocean Shield in the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH 370
In pictures: Missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 Search for flight MH370 Leading Seaman, Boatswain's Mate, William Sharkey searching for debris on a rigid hull inflatable boat at sea in the Southern Indian Ocean
In pictures: Missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 Search for flight MH370 Boatswain's Mate, Able Seaman Morgan Macdonald (L) observing markers from a Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) P3K Orion at sea in the Southern Indian Ocean. An oil slick in the Indian Ocean is not from missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, officials said when insisting underwater search efforts would be 'pursued to their completion'
In pictures: Missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 Search for flight MH370 HMAS Perth transiting through the Southern Indian Ocean as an Orion P-3K of the Royal New Zealand Air Force searches for debris for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH 370 in the southern Indian Ocean
In pictures: Missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 Search for flight MH370 Craig Turner from Phoenix International monitoring the Artemis' depth and speed as the Autonomous Underwater Vehicle scans the ocean floor for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH 370 in the southern Indian Ocean
The setback occurred on the day that $4 million US Navy drone submarine, Bluefin-21, neared the end of its search mission.
It was announced by those that controlled the drone that it could complete its scaling of the unmapped 1,2000 mile stretch of open ocean as soon as Wednesday.
Despite having covered over two thirds of the plotted area already, the drone is still yet to produce any evidence that the plane had crashed in the area.
It was felt that the Bluefin-21 would be the most promising aid in the search for the plane that went missing nearly seven weeks ago. However, if by the end of its mission, the U.S submarine has not found any evidence of wreckage it would lead to authorities having to decide on what course of action to take next.
With no wreckage being found, and the only evidence of the plane having crashed in the current search area being recorded pings believed to be from the plane’s black box, search organisers may have to re-evaluate the situation and decide on where next to direct their operations.
Earlier, families of the passengers of the Malaysian flight MH370 reacted angrily to the Malaysian authority’s offer of compensation.
In a statement released after the discussions the families’ of the survivors said: until “at least a tiny bit of concrete evidence" that the plane crashed is found, authorities should not try to settle the case with final pay-offs.
"No meaningful report on the progress of the investigation was given" at the meeting, the relatives said, adding that "not a single one" of their questions was answered.
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