a cyclone hitting NW Australia is not that bad as its mainly rural and very low population center.
the coast of Queensland south of Cairns is a lot more populated than the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
some notable Queensland cyclones
Tropical Cyclone Ada 1970
Resorts and boats were destroyed or severely damaged at Hayman, Daydream and South Molle Islands, as well as the two resorts – Happy Bay and Palm Bay – on Long Island. About 80% of buildings in the mainland centres of Shute Harbour, Airlie Beach and Cannonvale were severely damaged. Some damage occurred also inland at Proserpine where, following 24-hours of heavy rain that accompanied the storm, the Proserpine River peaked at 11.16 metres: its highest recorded flood. Fourteen people died
Tropical CYclone Althea 1971
Tropical Cyclone Althea was a category 4 cyclone when it hit Magnetic Island and Townsville in North Queensland on December 24, 1971. Althea produced peak gust wind speeds between 123 and 145 miles per hour (197 and 233 km/h). Three people died and property damage was estimated at AU$115 million loss (1990 value). On Magnetic Island 90% of the houses were damaged or destroyed. In Townsville houses were lifted from their stumps and most trees stripped of foliage.
Storm pathAlthough there was a dangerous storm surge associated with TC Althea (between 2.8 and 3.6 metres) little flooding occurred because the cyclone made landfall on a low tide. However, the combination of storm surge and wave action demolished The Strand sea wall and houses in low-lying areas were inundated with up to 0.6 metres of water.
Tropical Cyclone Wanda 1974
Tropical Cyclone Wanda crossed the Queensland, Australia coast at Double Island Point, south of Fraser Island, on 24 January 1974. Although this tropical cyclone was relatively weak, it dropped enormous quantities of rain on south-eastern Queensland and north-eastern New South Wales over the Australia Day (26-27 January) weekend, resulting in some of the worst flooding seen in a century. The Queensland state capital, Brisbane, fared particularly badly, with fourteen lives lost and parts of the city submerged under 2 metres of the Brisbane River. In northern New South Wales, a further two fatalities were reported.
I think its going to go south of Cairns.
