Cyclone Rewa country to be impacted by Rewa. As it developed into a tropical cyclone on 28 December, the system passed to the north of the outer lying atolls of Malaita Province in the Solomon Islands. Rewa then passed over the southern tip of Malaita Island, before passing to the south of Guadalcanal Island and the north of Rennell Island during 29 December. Cyclone Rewa started to affect New Caledonia on 5 January, before it passed over Grand Terre Island later that day. Rewa dumped over 300 mm (12 in) of rain on parts of the archipelago, which made all of the
Malaita Auki, on the northwest coast and is on the northern shore of the Langa Langa Lagoon. The people of the Langa Langa Lagoon and the Lau Lagoon on the northeast coast of Malaita call themselves "wane i asi" ‘salt-water people’ as distinct from "wane i tolo" ‘bush people’ who live in the interior of the island. Most local names for the island are Mala, or its dialect variants Mara or Mwala. The name Malaita or Malayta appears in the logbook of the Spanish explorers who in the 16th century visited the islands, and claimed that to be the actual name.