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Cyclone Larry

Tropical Cyclone Larry hit north-eastern Australia on Monday, 20 March, causing damage to both buildings and crops. Larry made landfall as a Category 5 storm, the maximum grading, near the town of Innisfail, Queensland, and was downgraded to a Category 3 cyclone shortly after it struck the coast.

Tropical cyclones are a hazard to Australia's northern coast from Brisbane in the east to Perth in the southwest between November and April each year.

Cyclones which strike Queensland's eastern coast form in the Coral Sea. According to Tropical Storm Risk, an average of 4.6 tropical cyclones make landfall on Australia each year. Larry is the third cyclone to strike Australia this storm season (the others called Clare and Emma were weaker and struck remote areas in northwest Australia). Larry is probably the most damaging cyclone to strike eastern Queensland since December 1971 when cyclone Althea struck Townsville. Althea recorded a maximum wind gust over land of 196km/h.

The 2005/6 Australian cyclone season has so far been about average with 8 tropical cyclones forming in the 'Australian-region' (between 170E and 100E). The climate norm number is 10.6. Tropical Storm Risk has been predicting a near-average 2005/6 tropical cyclone season for Australia since May 2005.

You can monitor and track storm worldwide using the TSR Tropical Storm Tracker at the link: http://forecast.mssl.ucl.ac.uk/shadow/tracker/dynamic/main.html

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