It's been 48 years since Cyclone Tracy wiped out Darwin on Christmas Eve . ABN 70 592 297 967|The National Museum of Australia is an Australian Government Agency, Australia's Defining Moments Digital Classroom, wind gusts reached 217 km/h before the anemometer was destroyed, gales extended to about 40 kilometres from the cyclones centre, there was a storm surge of 1.6 metres in Darwins harbour; an estimated 4 metres at Casuarina Beach, 255 mm of rain fell in 12 hours overnight, 145 mm in the two half-hour periods on either side of the eye of the cyclone, 145 people were seriously injured; more than 500 received minor injuries, about 70 per cent of houses suffered serious structural failure. The anemometer at Darwin Airport recorded a gust of 217 km/h before the instrument was destroyed. Quite a few of the characters in the film are Aboriginal, and they talk about Aboriginal stories relating to the cyclone, he says. deceased persons from Cyclone Tracy. Trench latrines were dug; water supplies delivered by tankers, and mass immunisation programs begun. Milliken estimated that on the eve of the cyclone there were 43,500 people living in 12,000 dwellings in the Darwin area. Cyclone Tracy resulted in 71 deaths and 650 injuries. This storm was unpredictable and changed direction by 90 degrees, heading towards Darwin. On 21 December 1974, the ESSA-8 satellite showed evidence of a newly formed circular centre near latitude 8 south and longitude 135 east. There is all sorts of roaring noises. In this extract, former Darwin resident LUDIJ PEDEN recounts her family's experience as the cyclone struck. Residents of Darwin were celebrating Christmas, and did not immediately acknowledge the emergency, partly because they had been alerted to an earlier cyclone (Selma) that passed west of the city, and did not affect it in any way. east southeast, and headed straight at Darwin, striking the city early on Christmas Day. The old Darwin was a place people went to drop off the grid, and no-one knew how many aboriginals were camped around the town at the time. This disturbance was tracked by the Darwin Weather Bureau's regional director Ray Wilkie, and by senior meteorologist Geoff Crane. Although a Legislative Assembly had been set up earlier in the year, the Northern Territory had only minimal self-government, with a federal minister being responsible for the Territory from Canberra. was swiftly organised, while many residents chose to drive out. Journalist Bill Bunbury interviewed the residents of Darwin some time later and recorded the experiences of the survivors of the cyclone in his book Cyclone Tracy, picking up the pieces. 1897 and March 1937. Age: 90 (age at death) Nationality: Australian. On the day of the cyclone, most residents of Darwin believed that the cyclone would not cause any damage to the city. The small, developing easterly storm had been observed passing clear of the city initially, but then turned towards it early on 24 December. Winds of Fury: The Full True Story of the Great Darwin Disaster, Keith Cole, Rigby, Adelaide, 1977. As soon as the worst of the storm had passed, Darwin faced several immediate health crises. Tracy was first detected as a depression in the Arafura Sea on 20 December 1974. Cyclone Tracy was a tropical cyclone that devastated the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, from 24 to 26 December 1974. Cyclone Tracy, Darwin Fact sheet 176 Records relating to Cyclone Tracy Selected records relating to Cyclone Tracy held by the National Archives in Canberra, Sydney and Darwin are listed below. Despite several warnings, the people of Darwin did not evacuate or prepare for the cyclone. Impact and aftermath The cyclone crossed the coast near Fannie Bay at around 3.30 on Christmas morning. Another of Cyclone Tracy's survivors, Bureau of Meteorology duty forecaster Peter Bate, believes he was more terrified due to knowing exactly what the super-cell could do. Fortunately for Darwin, flooding and 24/12- 13:00 storm surge were not major issues or these 24/12- 18:30 numbers could have been far higher. pdf) Copyright held by Kevin Murphy and reproduced here with author's permission. An initial response was to vaccinate residents for typhoid and cholera. catastrophe, and relief measures were soon under way. [27], Tracy is the most compact cyclone or equivalent-strength hurricane on record in the Australian basin and Southern Hemisphere, with gale-force winds extending only 48 kilometres (30mi) from the centre, and was also the smallest tropical cyclone worldwide until 2008, when Tropical Storm Marco of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season broke the record, with gale-force winds extending only 18.5 kilometres (11.5mi) from the centre. Blown Away will screen on ABC1 on 8.30pm on December 23. Sixty-six people were killed, hundreds injured and most of the city left homeless as fierce winds tore through the Northern Territory. However, by the following April, and after receiving criticism for the slow speed of reconstruction, the Commission had built 3,000 new homes in the nearly destroyed northern suburbs, and completed repairs to those that had survived the storm. Stars Chris Haywood Nicholas Hammond Tracy Mann See production, box office & company info Add to Watchlist 1 User review Episodes 3 Browse episodes 1 Season David Longshore, in the book Encyclopedia of Hurricanes, Typhoons, and Cyclones 2008 edition, states that Tracy's barometric pressure was as low as 914 mbar, but the actual lowest pressure was 950 mbar. Despite several warnings, the people of Darwin did not evacuate or prepare for the cyclone. From around 6:30a.m., the winds began to ease, with the rainfall ceasing at around 8:30a.m. After making landfall, Tracy rapidly weakened, dissipating on 26 December. Although a Legislative Assembly had been set up earlier in the year, the Northern Territory had only minimal self-government, with a federal minister being responsible for the Territory from Canberra. It moved slowly southwest and intensified, passing close to Bathurst Island on the 23rd and 24th. However, the cyclone and subsequent responses highlighted several problems with the way the regional government was set up. [15] The storm also caused the substantial destruction of the city of Darwin. The small, developing easterly storm had initially appeared likely to pass clear of the city, but then turned towards it early on 24 December. Dr Stack remembers sloshing through six inches of bloodstained water in the outpatients' ward at Darwin hospital, where more than 500 people sought medical assistance, in the days after Cyclone Tracy. Rolph Harris when the to Darwin to entertain the people who stayed behind. It left more than 25,000 out of the 47,000 inhabitants of the city homeless prior to landfall and required the evacuation of over 30,000 people, of whom many never returned. The storm was officially pronounced a tropical cyclone at around 10p.m. on 21 December, when it was around 200km (125mi) to the north-northeast of Cape Don (360km (225mi) northeast of Darwin). During his show, he told the people how many bodies had been found, the government told him to retract his statement otherwise theyd have him in court until he was bankrupt. 'I'll never forget the sound of the wind. It's rocking and crunching and grinding,' he said. . Its eye was just 12km across, small by tropical cyclone standards, but it cut through the. Major-General Alan Stretton, Director-General of the Natural Disasters Organisation,[8] and the Commonwealth Minister for the Northern Territory, Rex Patterson, arrived at Darwin Airport late on Christmas Day and took charge of the relief efforts. Temporary housing, caravans, hotels and an ocean liner, MV Patris, were used to house people, as reconstruction of permanent housing had not yet begun by September that year. At Darwin Airport, thirty-one aircraft were destroyed and another twenty-five badly damaged. After an assessment of the situation and meetings with the Department of the Northern Territory and the relevant minister, it was concluded that Darwin's population needed to be reduced to a "safe level" of 10,500 people. I wanted everything to be right for it and good again,' she said. The official toll is 71, but there are conspiracy theories that the real death toll was covered up for various reasons. E.P. A broadcast on ABC Radio that day stated that Cyclone Tracy posed no immediate threat to Darwin. By 1978, much of the city had recovered and was able to house almost the same number of people as it had before the cyclone hit. Dick Muddimer, a reporter for the local ABC radio station, 8DR, credited as being the man who informed the rest of the nation about the cyclone, after finding out that the ABC's studios on Cavenagh Street were completely knocked off transmission, was able to travel through the wreckage and the storm to the studios of the local television station NTD-8 to send a message to the ABC station in Mount Isa, Queensland notify ABC headquarters in Sydney that Darwin had been hit by a cyclone. She treated patients in very difficult conditions for five months after the cyclone, before going on to become mayor of 'a heap of rubble' in 1975 and presided over the city for the first five crucial years of reconstruction, until 1980. Cyclone Tracy has often been described as 'a manmade disaster'a reference to the hastily-built structures and poor adherence to building codes that characterised many of the houses in Darwin at the time. According to the Bureau of Meteorology, Tracy was 'arguably the most significant tropical cyclone in Australia's history' and created hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of damage to the city, which was left without power, water and communications. One only has to look at the photos that were taken of the devestation and you would have to ask, if there were only 64 deaths then were did everyone else hide to survivea lot didnt and the number of deaths I know of is over 200. Cyclone Tracy, 1974 Quick Statistics 71 Fatalities 650 Injured $200 million Insurance Costs 5000 Homes Destroyed Tropical Cyclone Tracy struck Darwin in the early hours of 25 December 1974; Tracy was rated Category 4. Audio from an ABC journalist in Darwin giving a firsthand account, Australian Screen, Bureau of Meteorology report on Cyclone Tracy (PDF 6.22mb), Fact sheet, National Archives of Australia (PDF 61kb). Woodbury County Auditor seeks to assure voters that the checks and balances in the system work in the wake of alleged voter fraud in the county. total damage bill topped $800 million (a colossal sum in 1974). By 10a.m. Gary Gibson, another amateur operator, was able to establish a station at the Darwin Community College, and within a short period of time, a network of stations was established across the country. It was only then, in the middle of 1978, that Darwins population reached its pre-cyclone levels. [28][29][4] After forming over the Arafura Sea, the storm moved southwards and affected the city with Category4 winds on the Australian cyclone intensity scale, while there is evidence to suggest that it had reached Category3 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale when it made landfall. Documentary Blown Away, from producers James Bradley and Rachel Clements, and written and directed by Danielle MacLean, takes a fresh look at the night the cyclone hit and its devastating effects. All official communications out of Darwin were no longer operational. You can also listen to the story in REAL AUDIO and WINDOWS MEDIA formats. Some people say body parts in the debris [were never found] because bulldozers were scooping up huge amounts of corrugated iron and timber and dumping it all in a swamp. Cyclone Tracy had a pressure of 950 hPA and Cyclone Yasi, which crossed the North Queensland coast in 2011, registered 929 hPA. Resident Dawn Lawrie, a 1971 independent candidate for the electorate of Nightcliff, told him: We'd had a cyclone warning only 10 days before Tracy [that another cyclone] was coming, it was coming, and it never came. EVAC WARNING PROMPTED BY FLOOD FEARS IN TRACY. Before leaving Darwin, to catch up with us, dad when the to my brother and my school to get our education records, we went to seperate schools (me, Ludmilla Primary, my brother Perap). However, the government insisted that it be rebuilt in the same location. She recalled flopping backwards onto her bed only a split-second before a telephone box came hurtling through the window. These days there is a much more sophisticated understanding of the psychological impact of being involved in major disasters, both for those who live through them and for the staff or volunteers who go in afterwards. I remember clearly the Red Cross people going around and handing out food and blankets to everyone. He was told in no uncertain terms to mind his own business. The initial estimate put the reported death toll at 65, but it was revised upwards in March 2005 to 71, when the Northern Territory Coroner proclaimed that those six who still remained listed as missing had "perished at sea". gateways to Asia. Another resident, Barbara Langkrens, said: And you started to almost think that it would never happen to Darwin even though we had cyclone warnings on the radio all the time most of the people who had lived here for quite some time didn't really believe the warnings. Approximately 30,000 people were homeless and were forced to seek shelter in several makeshift housing and emergency centres that lacked proper hygienic conditions. Local officers from the Commonwealth Department of Housing and Construction began clearing debris and working to restore power. This led Malcolm Fraser, Whitlam's successor as Prime Minister, to give self-government to the Territory in 1978. Journalist Bill Bunbury interviewed the residents of Darwin some time later and recorded the experiences of the survivors of the cyclone in his book Cyclone Tracy, picking up the pieces. Cyclone Tracy was a tropical cyclone that devastated the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, from 24 to 26 December 1974. Tropical Storm Marco of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season . (Bunbury, p. 20). Tropical Cyclone Tracy is arguably the most significant tropical cyclone in Australia's history The Bureau of Meteorology's official estimates suggested that Tracy's gusts had reached 240 kilometres per hour (150mph). Station manager Bob Hooper, who was an amateur radio operator, helped to establish communications using his own equipment. [21] The Commission was headed by Tony Powell. The government then gave support to his position, offering full reimbursement of personal costs, as long as the evacuation took place. There have been 13 tropical cyclones in the 21st century so far with a death toll of at least 1,000, of which the deadliest was Cyclone Nargis, with at least 138,373 deaths when it struck Myanmar. Those who remained in Darwin faced the threat of several diseases due to much of the city being without water, electricity, or basic sanitation. In recent years, the deadliest Atlantic . accounting for 71 lives, the destruction of most of Darwin and profoundly affecting the Australian perspective As unfortunate as this toll may be, it is a huge improvement from Cyclone Tracy's, indicating that pre-cyclone evacuation procedures that are used nowadays significantly limit the . CYCLONE TRACY'S DAMAGE 66 people killed 145 people admitted to hospital with serious injuries Another 500 people treated for minor injuries Winds were officially recorded at 217km/h before the. Michael Fisher, Ted Roberts and Leon Saunders wrote the series, and it starred Chris Haywood and Tracy Mann, who played the lead characters of Steve and Connie. Trench latrines were dug; water supplies delivered by tankers, and mass immunisation programs begun. Several factors delayed the dissemination of the news of the cyclone's impact. Gough Whitlam, the Australian Prime Minister, was touring Syracuse, Sicily, at the time and flew to Darwin upon hearing of the disaster. The army was given the task of searching houses for bodies of people and animals, as well as locating other health risks; for example, cleaning out rotting contents from fridges and freezers across the city. It destroyed more than 70 percent of Darwin's buildings, including 80 percent of houses. After forming over the Arafura Sea, the storm moved southwards and affected the city with Category4 winds on the Australian cyclone intensity scale, while there is evidence to suggest that it had reached Category3 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale when it made landfall. Christmas Eve this year will mark 40 years since Cyclone Tracy devastated Darwin in 1974, killing 71 people and causing (in todays terms) around AUD$4.45 billion worth of damage. Houses which had been 'searched and cleared' had S&C painted on an external wall. Prior to contemporary naming conventions, the storm became known as the "Great Hurricane". By on Cyclone Tracy December 1974 (pdf 6.4 MB). As a result, Cyclone Tracy took most Darwin residents by surprise. on Cyclone Tracy December 1974. They sealed off damaged water hydrants and activated pumps to reactivate the city's water and sewerage systems. population had left. 'The wind's howling. The 36 Deadliest Tropical Cyclones in World History Death counts from large killer cyclones are highly uncertain, particulary for those before 1900. Where: Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. 24/12- 21:00 In almost all cases wind was the dominant 25/12- 00:30 factor in the ensuing structural damage, 25/12- 03:00 By May 1975, Darwin's population had recovered somewhat, with 30,000 residing in the city. Tropical Cyclone Tracy Bureau Home > Tropical Cyclones > About Northern Territory Cyclones > Cyclone Tracks and Impacts Tropical Cyclone Tracy 20 - 26 Dec 1974 NT cyclones | Alphabetical | Category | SOI | Longitude | Sea | Year | Season For a larger image of the above map click here top [an error occurred while processing this directive] [3][16] By 31 December, only 10,638 people (mostly men who were required to help clean up the city) remained in Darwin. Another resident, Barbara Langkrens, said: And you started to almost think that it would never happen to Darwin even though we had cyclone warnings on the radio all the time most of the people who had lived here for quite some time didn't really believe the warnings. Houses which had been 'searched and cleared' had S&C painted on an external wall. The cyclone caused great devastation as so many buildings were destroyed, making thousands of people homeless. Labor Senator Nova Peris, who was three years old when the cyclone hit her grandparent's home, recalled how her family were amongst those who simply did not take the storm warning seriously. This intense tropical storm changed and became a small but very powerful cyclone (what Australians call a hurricane). The antennas at the OTC Coastal Radio Service station (callsign VID) were destroyed during the storm. For more information see the (pdf). The railway lines and roads in and around the town were damaged, isolating it from the surrounding regions and supplies. As recently as two years ago, my mum told a radio talk back, talking about the cyclone, about what happened, an army captain at the time cowoberated mums story so started asking questions. Approximately twenty-four hours after the storm hit Darwin, the population of Alice Springs had raised over $105,000 to assist the victims of Tracy. This clip shows the extensive destruction in the aftermath of Cyclone Tracy, one of the worst natural disasters in Australian history, which devastated Darwin on Christmas Eve in 1974. This was completed within a week. The initial estimate put the reported death toll at 65, . Miraculously, they survived unharmed and Helen was evacuated to Melbourne where she later gave birth to their son. Many residents continued to prepare for Christmas, and many attended Christmas parties, despite the increasing winds and heavy rain. The comments below have not been moderated, By The death toll was increased to 71 in 2005 after the Coroner declared the six people who still remained listed as . On the way home to his pregnant wife Helen, the then 26-year-old stopped at the BoM's Darwin Airport office to view the latest radar image of Tracy. The only local radio station that wasn't completely disabled was the ABC's 8DR. By 10:40a.m. VID operators had established VID2 on board the MV Nyanda in Darwin Harbour, and then for five days official communications traffic in and out of Darwin was handled via continuous wave radio (Morse code). Volunteers came in from across the country to assist with the emergency relief efforts. 49 of these deaths occurred on land and 16 were at sea. Is it time Harry & Meghan accept Clarkson's apology and move on? 'My first clear memory I have of my childhood life is the night of Cyclone Tracy,' Ms Peris wrote in her Facebook post. The extraordinary official response and public generosity reminds us of our social resilience, of how terrible things can happen, and how we can help each other through them. However, Cyclone Tracy, which hit Darwin in the small hours of Christmas Day 1974, was among the most destructive ever recorded in Australia. After Cyclone Tracy Very strong winds may damage installations, dwellings, communication systems, trees., etc. The program is broadcast around Australia at 08:00 on ABC Local Radio. Those who were considered unable to return to work within two weeks were evacuated by air to safer locations. When we were evacuated, my father, in the RAAF based in Darwin, remained to help in the clean up. Wind gusts increased in strength; between 10p.m. (local time) and midnight, the damage became serious, and residents began to realise that the cyclone would not just pass by the city, but rather over it. In time, some good would come out of the experience of Cyclone Tracy. The storm was officially pronounced a tropical cyclone at around 10p.m. on 21 December, when it was around 200 kilometres (120mi) to the north-northeast of Cape Don (360 kilometres (220mi) northeast of Darwin). 12:27 GMT 23 Dec 2014 [7], Tropical cyclone that struck northern Australia in 1974, Electronics Australia magazine March 1975, Learn how and when to remove this template message, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, "NT coroner hands down finding on Cyclone Tracy deaths", "Tropical Cyclone Report: Tropical Storm Marco", "Meteorological Cyclones Information Countdown to the impact of Cyclone Tracy", "Meteorological Cyclones Information Warnings issued for Cyclone Tracy", "Northern Territory Library Cyclone Tracy Exhibition", "Previous cyclones in Darwin Cyclone Tracy", "Cyclone Tracy | Northern Territory Library", "Disaster Relief Cyclone Tracy and Tasman Bridge", "Reconstruction Commission: Doubt and disillusion grows in Darwin", "Santa never made it, but song to help Darwin", "FAQ: HURRICANES, TYPHOONS, AND TROPICAL CYCLONES", "International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (HURDAT format)", Cyclone Tracy, Northern Territory Library online feature, Northern Territory Library online exhibition Cyclone Tracy, Northern Territory Library on Cyclone Tracy, Collected oral histories of Cyclone Tracy. Volunteers came in from across the country to assist with the emergency relief efforts. The DVD is compatible with all region codes and includes special features such as newsreel footage of the devastation and a documentary titled On A Wind and a Prayer. On 21 December 1974, the ESSA-8 satellite showed evidence of a newly formed circular centre near latitude 8 south and longitude 135 east. Your email address will not be published. The effects of the cyclone on the population of Darwin were profound. See also: Big Blow Up North by Kevin Murphy (5.75 MB This anniversary is important for those old enough to remember, and those who worry they might not be around for the 50th, Ms Kinang said. However, the government insisted that it be rebuilt in the same location. The Olympian went on to describe how a wall caved in on top of her sister's cot and how her mother came to the house to find no roof, no windows and a few walls remaining of the children's room. The damage to the city was so severe that some advocated moving the entire city. However, early in the morning of 24 December, Tracy rounded Cape Fourcroy on the western tip of Bathurst Island, and moved in a southeasterly direction, straight towards Darwin. One of those is about Dareba Nungalinya, [otherwise known as] Old Man Rock, which was known as the protector spirit for the Larrakia people of Darwin. She was also later put in charge of a clinic at Darwin High School which was the epicentre of the relief effort. . Then it turned sharply to the In February 1975 the Australian Government established the Darwin Reconstruction Commission, which rebuilt the city over the next three years. This information was recorded by a Bureau of Meteorology staff member at the Darwin airport. (Bunbury, p. 21). You have to shout to talk to each other. [7] The anemometer (wind speed instrument) failed at around 3:10a.m., with the wind vane (wind direction) destroyed after the cyclone's eye passed over. [22] The damage to the city was so severe that some advocated moving the entire city. Stretton also regulated access to the city by means of a permit system. but perhaps because it was Christmas eve, and perhaps because no severe cyclone had affected Darwin in many The 1897 cyclone was a tropical cyclone that destroyed the city of Darwin in the Northern Territory of Australia. 'We'll laugh, cry, share stories; we'll say, 'you've gotten so old and fat!' Tracy killed 71 people, caused A$837million in damage (1974 dollars), or approximately A$7.2billion (2022 dollars), or US$5.2 billion (2022 dollars). Within several weeks, three-quarters of Darwin's Station manager Bob Hooper, who was an amateur radio operator, helped to establish communications using his own equipment. Dick Muddimer, a reporter for the local ABC radio station, 8DR, credited as being the man who informed the rest of the nation about the cyclone, after finding out that the ABC's studios on Cavenagh Street were completely knocked off transmission, was able to travel through the wreckage and the storm to the studios of the local television station NTD-8 to send a message to the ABC station in Mount Isa, Queensland to notify ABC headquarters in Sydney that Darwin had been hit by a cyclone. [19] By 10:40a.m. VID operators had established VID2 on board the MV Nyanda in Darwin Harbour, and then for five days official communications traffic in and out of Darwin was handled via continuous wave radio (Morse code). An initial response was to vaccinate residents for typhoid and cholera. It was the worst natural disaster in Australian history. After 10:00p.m. ACST, damage became severe, and wind gusts reached 217 kilometres per hour (134.84mph) before instruments failed. Houses destroyed by Cyclone Tracy, Darwin, December 1974 (picture) / Alan Dwyer. The army was given the task of searching houses for people and animals, as well as locating other health risks; for example, cleaning out rotting contents from fridges and freezers across the city. Small towns provided food and shelter as those travelling by road passed through. E.P. Lillian Radulova for Daily Mail Australia Additionally, the Australian government began a mass evacuation by road and air; all of the Defence Force personnel throughout Australia, along with the entire Royal Australian Air Force's fleet of transport planes, were recalled from holiday leave and deployed to evacuate civilians from Darwin, as well as to bring essential relief supplies to the area. Weather satellite image of Tropical Cyclone Tracy, Records about Cyclone Tracy from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, Australia Broadcasting Corp. Rewind on Cyclone Tracy. About 30 people died as a result. I remember the airport had half of the roof ripped off, as people back then would know it wasn't much more than a tin shed. [9], By late afternoon on 24 December, the sky over the city was heavily overcast, with low clouds, and was experiencing strong rain. Most Australians were not aware of the cyclone until late in the afternoon. Date Of Birth: October 3, 1952 Date Of Death: November 27, 1986 Cause Of Death: N/A Ethnicity . Occupation: Military . Cyclone Tracy: hundreds commemorate 40th anniversary of Darwin disaster Indigenous elder warns memorial gathering that disrespect for Mother Earth could rouse ancient spirit who may bring. This was not the first time Darwin had been severely damaged by a cyclone: it was badly mauled in both January Register for more free articles. Later in the evening, the Darwin meteorological office received an infrared satellite image from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's satellite, NOAA-4, showing that the low pressure had developed further and that spiralling clouds could be observed. Local teams worked without relief until the arrival of a surgical team from Canberra late that day. It moved slowly other social aspects of disaster planning. Cyclone Tracy, which hit Darwin in the small hours of Christmas Day 1974, killed 71 people and devastated 80 per cent of the city. But 66 people lost their lives and 70 per cent of homes were destroyed in the Northern Territory's capital city in 1974, when Cyclone Tracy unleashed her 217 kilometres per hour winds. At 08:00 on ABC Radio that day stated that cyclone Tracy posed no immediate to... 80 percent of houses 1978, that Darwins population reached its pre-cyclone levels or these 24/12- 18:30 numbers have! 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Christmas, and headed straight at Darwin Airport, thirty-one aircraft were destroyed and another twenty-five damaged. Around 3.30 on Christmas morning considered unable to return to work within two weeks cyclone tracy deaths. The to Darwin to entertain the people of Darwin 's buildings, including 80 of... My father, in the Arafura Sea on 20 December 1974 High School was... Houses destroyed by cyclone cyclone tracy deaths December 1974 Fannie Bay at around 3.30 on morning... Each other from the surrounding regions and supplies station that was n't completely disabled was ABC. The epicentre of the relief effort thousands of people homeless my father, the. Was first detected as a depression in the Darwin area old and fat! people homeless the Great Darwin,! Eve of the city early on Christmas morning several makeshift housing and centres! Towns provided food and blankets to everyone hurricane ) Tracy December 1974 the! Unharmed and Helen was evacuated to Melbourne where she later gave birth to their son of,... This intense tropical storm Marco of the city 's water and sewerage systems was organised...
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