Cyclone Tracy
On Christmas Eve and the morning of Christmas Day in 1974, tropical cyclone Tracy swept through the city of Darwin, killing 64 people, displacing more than 41,000 and requiring the evacuation of 30,000. At the time it was the most compact system ever recorded with a radius of only 50km. It hit wind speeds of 217km/h before it broke the official anemometer at Darwin airport.
Economic Impacts
Cyclone Tracy caused an estimated cost of $950 million, adding to this, over 35000 people were evacuated and many of them (mainly short term residents, living there for work) did not return, decimating the few local businesses, which were able to reopen after surviving the cyclone itself. Over 9,000 homes were destroyed, out of a city of 43,000 people living in 12,000 residences. Many of these buildings were not built to cyclone regulations despite their location in the cyclone belt.
Social Impacts
After the cyclone, thousands of people were made homeless, there were also health issues as there was damage to the sewers, which caused them to overflow, and extremely large amounts of rotten garbage piled up, causing disease.
The effects of the cyclone on the population of Darwin were profound. Depending on the sources, between 65 and 71 people died in cyclone Tracy. However it is said that the death toll was downplayed and only people who were identified were counted in the death toll. This was supposedly due to the looming election.
The cyclone made the government realize that, like all of the states, the northern territory needed to have its own government, instead of being governed from Canberra. This meant that cyclone warnings and evacuation orders could be issued much quicker than previously.
Environmental Impacts
In the aftermath of the cyclone, much infrastructure was severely damaged, some of it beyond repair. This includes Darwin’s sewerage systems, which leaked into waterways, mangroves, and streets causing a complete loss of sanitation.
Many trees were uprooted, and animal habitats destroyed. Witnesses reported a complete silence the next morning due to the loss of bird life in the area. Because of the loss of habitat for a few animals, such as birds, the whole food chain was damaged and for months there were all manner of dead coastal-dwelling creatures strewn on the beaches before the food chain recovered from its losses.
Many other marine animals were killed by the vast amount leaked sewerage, but also that of debris such as metal, glass and plastic, that polluted the waterways and coastline around Darwin.
Responses
Personal Responses
Before the cyclone hit many Darwin residences chose to ignore the frequent cyclone warnings and not evacuate. This was due to Darwin having had many false alarms before and also that fact that it was Christmas Eve and nobody wanted to leave on Christmas.
After the cyclone, most of Darwin was evacuated as the majority of the city had been wiped out completely. Many of the evacuated residents chose not to return but to leave and rebuild their lives elsewhere.
Governmental Responses
Late on Christmas night Major-General Stretton, Director of the newly formed National Disasters Organisation, arrived at Darwin to coordinate evacuations. Starting on the 27th of December, hundreds of police officers from interstate began to arrive and help clean up the disaster area.
They were assisted by members of the army and navy in the gruesome tasks of searching for bodies, cleaning out rotten food from refrigerators and shooting packs of starving dogs that posed a threat to survivors.
The RAAF (Royal Australian Air Force) used their transport fleet to bring in emergency supplies such as generators, food, tools and emergency accommodation for volunteers assisting in the clean up.
Cyclone Tracy devastated the city of Darwin, decimated the local infrastructure and housing. The majority of the city was evacuated and many never returned. The cyclone also paved the way for improvements in the way Darwin existed physically and how it was governed.
New cyclone building codes were put in place, ensuring that houses could withstand debris, and that their roofs were tied to the foundations of the house.
The northern territory was also given its own government, like all the states of Australia do, so that it can now make decisions regarding itself faster and more reliably than when they were governed from Canberra.