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|
Catastrophe Report 9
February 24th – July 25th 2006 |
Cyclone - Australia
| Territory: |
|
Australia |
| Region: |
|
Queensland |
| Date: |
|
20 March 2006 |
| Event: |
|
Cyclone |
| Impact: |
|
The worst effects of Cyclone Larry were centred
upon the small town of Innisfail (population ~ 8,500) 90 km
south of Cairns. Despite severe damage to buildings, including
the loss of around 50 percent of roofs, no fatalities occurred.
In total, around 10,000 buildings in Innisfail were damaged,
leaving thousands homeless. A quarter of government buildings
were also damaged, and many roads and bridges made impassable.
At Babinda, 30 km north of Innisfail, an estimated 80 percent
of buildings were damaged, along with virtually all homes at
neighbouring Silkwood, which was the worst hit settlement. Around
a third of properties at Kurrimine Beach and Mission Beach were
also damaged, but the city of Cairns escaped lightly. Cairns
airport and harbour were closed, however, and more than 50,000
residents in the area lost power. The banana industry, which
provides around 6,000 jobs, was severely affected, with the
level of crop destruction reported to be as high as 90 percent,
and losses estimated at more than US$255 million. Australia
also lost 10 percent of its sugar production due to the cyclone,
with resulting losses set at around US$145 million. Total economic
losses are forecast to be about US$1.1 billion, with insured
losses hovering around US$225 million. |
| Summary: |
|
Tropical Cyclone Larry started life as a low
pressure system over the Coral Sea on March 16th. Two days later,
and 1150 km off the Queensland coast, the system had developed
into a Category 2 cyclone (on the Australian Intensity Scale).
The storm intensified to category 5 on the AIS, and made landfall
on the Queensland coast close to Innisfail, between 06.20 and
07.20 h on March 20th. 10 minute sustained wind speeds are estimated
at ~ 200 km an hour, with gusts as high as 290 km and hour –
and perhaps up to 320 – close to Innisfail. Maximum wind
speeds are typical of a Category 4 storm on the Saffir-Simpson
Scale for Atlantic hurricanes, although the lowest pressure,
at 915 mb, is more characteristic of a Category 5 Atlantic hurricane.
Larry was downgraded to a tropical low pressure system as it
headed inland, before dissipating over the next 24 hours. This
short-lived but extremely intense storm is the most powerful
to strike the Queensland coast since 1931. |
| Data sources: |
|
Tropical Cyclone Larry Review. Guy Carpenter
http://gcportal.guycarp.com/portal/extranet/popup/pdf/GCPub/Tropical%20Cyclone%20Larry%20051906.pdf?vid=1
Australian Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland Regional Office
http://www.bom.gov.au/weather/qld/cyclone/tc_larry/
|
| Additional sources:
|
|
The Australian
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,18531510-31037,00.html
|
| Image: |
|
Tropical Cyclone Larry bearing down on Queensland
on March 19th, imaged by the MODIS instrument on the TERRA satellite.
Courtesy: Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA Goddard
Space Flight Centre.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Cyclone_Larry_2006.jpg
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