SW Pacific: Severe TC Larry (Ex TD 15)

[HURAKAN]

Aussie, how long has it been since you don't see a destruction of this scale in your country?

[HURAKAN]

Some News Reports Video from media out here

http://seven.com.au/news/popup_video/154662

http://seven.com.au/news/popup_video/154660

http://ninemsn.video.msn.com/v/en-au/v. ... 63b3a&f=39

http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200603/r77322_220205.asx

http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200603/r77339_220262.asx

http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200603/r77341_220270.asx

Great videos, Thanks!

[AussieMark]

in 1974 Tracy levelled Darwin and Wanda inundated Brisbane

before that would of been Althea in 1971 which levelled Townsville

so we are talking at least 30 years since a cyclone has done this much damage

[AussieMark]

the thing is I have been saying for a while that when severe cyclones start to hit QLD coast again the damage will be bad.

when they hit the Pilbara region of WA they are not bad as they are very unpopulated rural communities.

i.e storms like Orson (1989), Thelma (1998) Vance (1999)

[HURAKAN]

So, basically eastern Australia hasn't experience a cyclone like this one in 32 years? Amazing, a new generation.

[AussieMark]

here are some strong ones in recent years

Tropical Cyclone Winifred - 1986
http://www.australiasevereweather.com/cyclones/1986/bom/winifred.gif


Tropical Cyclone Aivu - 1989
http://www.australiasevereweather.com/cyclones/1989/bom/aivu.gif


Tropical Cyclone Ingrid - 2005
http://www.australiasevereweather.com/cyclones/2005/ingrid.gif

[Pearl River]

AussieMark, our prayer's and thoughts from Southeast Louisiana are with your fellow countrymen.

[AussieMark]

So, basically eastern Australia hasn't experience a cyclone like this one in 32 years? Amazing, a new generation.

exactly

in the 1970's was a bad period

there was 4 notable ones in like 4 years

Cyclone Ada - 1970

Tropical Cyclone Ada was a Category 4 cyclone that killed 14 people when it hit Queensland's Whitsunday Island Resorts and the adjacent Whitsunday Coast mainland on January 17, 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 and property damage was estimated at AU$390 million

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.

Although 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.

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.

Storm pathThe cyclone's final toll: 16 dead, over 300 injured; 56 homes destroyed, a further 1,600 submerged; 8000 people left homeless.

Cyclone Tracy - 1974

Cyclone Tracy was a tropical cyclone that devastated Darwin, Australia, from December 24 to December 25, 1974. It was recorded by The Age as being a "disaster of the first magnitude...without parallel in Australia's history." It killed 71 people - the official death toll was revised upwards from 65 to 71[1] in March 2005 - and destroyed over 70 percent of Darwin's buildings, leaving over 20,000 people homeless. Most of Darwin's population was evacuated to Adelaide, Whyalla, Alice Springs and Sydney, and many never returned to Darwin. The town was subsequently rebuilt with modern materials and techniques. Cyclone Tracy was at least a Category 4 storm, although there is evidence to suggest that it had reached Category 5 when it made landfall at Darwin.

Tracy killed 71 people—49 on land and 22 at sea—and Darwin had been substantially destroyed.

Due to the destruction of infrastructure, the distance between Darwin and the rest of the Australian population and the fact it was Christmas Day and most media outlets had only a skeleton crew rostered on at best, the news of the cyclone took some time to reach people. Most Australians were not aware of the cyclone until late in the afternoon.

The initial emergency response was from a leadership committee of high-level public servants and police which stated that, "Darwin had, for the time being, ceased to exist as a city". Gough Whitlam, then Australian Prime Minister, was touring Syracuse at the time but flew to Darwin on hearing of the disaster. The Government began a mass evacuation by road and air. All Defence Force personnel throughout Australia were recalled from holiday leave, and the entire Royal Australian Air Force fleet of transport planes were deployed to evacuate civilians from the city and to bring essential supplies.

[HURAKAN]

Is it likely that the damage caused by Larry is only overwhelmed by Tracy?

[AussieMark]

I would say yes from what I know so far

altho Wanda is worse also
as Brisbane was inundated under 6 feet of water

[HURAKAN]

I will be anxiously waiting for BoM report on Larry.

[Derek Ortt]

how often do the densely populated regions of SE Australia, such as Sydney receive impacts? I am not familiar with this basin that much. Would it be similar to the return period of New England impacts here?

[AussieMark]

in recorded history Sydney has never had a cyclone strike

the furtherest south a cyclone has struck is northern NSW

a cyclone into Sydney would be terrible

in that part of the coast is a population of 5-6 million

a hailstorm across Sydneys eastern suburbs IN 1999 delivered a damage bill of $1.7 BillioN (around $1.2 Billion US)

[Derek Ortt]

seems like Sidney is your version of NYC, except without the surge funneling . Lets hope we dont have a strongly inverted trough to drive one into Sidney at 40 mph

[AussieMark]

here is a map of Australia




from what I have been told it would be hard to get a strike on SYdney.

ALtho Brisbane has been hit by cyclones before which if it happened today would be a bad scenario

population is 1.7 Million

and near there is the gold coast with a population of 469,000


here are a list of cyclones passing within 180 nm of brisbane 1958 - 1997

[Hybridstorm_November2001]

Looks like another TC is forming behind Larry. Seems that Ausy Land could get the famous double Whammy

[DoctorHurricane2003]

I doubt Sydney gets hit with anything significant ever....first, the way the coast line is shaped, there would have to be a cyclone in the coral sea being pushed SE, missing the trough, and being shunted west to make landfall anywhere near Sydney, and on top of that the waters in the Tasman Sea are pretty chilly.

[Stephanie]

I saw this in the newspaper this morning. Unbelievable!

[SouthFloridawx]

I saw this in the newspaper this morning. Unbelievable!

what did you see?????

[SouthFloridawx]

Aussies Endure Strongest Storm Since '74 By MERAIAH FOLEY, Associated Press Writer
34 minutes ago



The most powerful storm to hit Australia in three decades laid waste to its northeastern coast Monday, mowing down sugar and banana plantations with 180 mph winds but causing no deaths or serious injuries.

Innisfail, a farming town of 8,500 located about 60 miles south of the tourist city of Cairns, was hardest hit, and Mayor Neil Clarke estimated that thousands of residents were left homeless.

More than 100,000 people were without power, and the damage was estimated to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Prime Minister John Howard pledged immediate cash handouts to the homeless and said more help would be forthcoming.

"The damage to dwellings is very extensive," Howard told the Nine Network from Melbourne. "Thank heavens it does not appear as though there have been any very serious injuries."

Clarke told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. the local airport was being cleared to house people in tents.

The town's main street was littered with mangled tin and iron roofs and shredded fronds from seaside palm trees.

"It looks like an atomic bomb hit the place," Clarke said. "We won't even have any water to drink by tomorrow."

Cyclone Larry crashed ashore south of Cairns as a Category 5 storm. Cairns is a popular jumping-off point for tourists to the Great Barrier Reef, the world's largest coral system that runs parallel to the coast for more than 1,400 miles.

Authorities said it was too early to assess possible damage to the reef, visited by nearly 2 million tourists each year.

David Wachenfeld, director of science at the government body that cares for the reef, said the worst-hit area of the reef was not one that was popular with tourists. He said it would recover — though that could take 20 years.

About 30 people were treated at hospitals for minor cuts and abrasions, said Ben Creagh, a spokesman for Queensland state Department of Emergency Services. The human toll was low because people were warned about the cyclone's approach over the weekend and either boarded up their homes and fled or hunkered down or went to evacuation centers in town while the storm raged outside, Creagh said.

"Good planning, a bit of luck — we've dodged a bullet," Creagh said.

The storm was the most powerful to hit Australia since Christmas Eve in 1974, when Cyclone Tracy destroyed the northern city of Darwin, killing 65 people.

By early Tuesday, the storm was moving inland to the west over a remote area of northeastern Australia. It was losing force and had been downgraded to a Category 2 storm.

State authorities declared a natural disaster, and Howard promised immediate payments to families of $720 for each adult and $290 for each child left homeless. Howard indicated that more aid would come after the government assessed the damage.

State Disaster Coordination Center spokesman Peter Rekers warned residents to stay on their guard for deadly animals stirred up by the storm.

"Most of the casualties and deaths resulting from cyclones happen after the storm has passed," he warned. "Keep your kids away from flooded drains, be aware of snakes and crocodiles. Those guys will have had a bad night, too."

Queensland state leader Peter Beattie said 55 percent of homes in Innisfail had been damaged, though rescue and assessment teams were yet to get full access to the swamped region. All roads into Innisfail remained blocked late Monday night.

"We haven't had a cyclone like this for decades, if we've ever had one like it before," he said. "The property damage has been immense."

The storm was so bad at its height overnight that police were unable to venture out and help terrified residents who called to say the winds had ripped roofs off buildings and destroyed their homes.

Des Hensler, an Innisfail resident, took shelter by himself in a church, with water up to his ankles.

"I don't get scared much, but this is something to make any man tremble in his boots," he told the Seven television network.

As emergency services fanned out across the region later to assess the damage, they saw devastation.

Farmers were expected to be among the hardest hit — the region is a major growing region for bananas and sugar cane, and the storm stripped plantations bare. Officials said damage would run into hundreds of millions of dollars.

"It looks like someone's gone in there with a slasher and slashed the top off everything," said Bill Horsford, an Innisfail cane farmer and member of the Cane Protection and Productivity Board.

___

On the Net:

Brisbane Tropical Cyclone Warning Center: http://www.bom.gov.au/weather/qld/cyclone/