I won’t mention every cyclone or tropical low, just the ones which had an impact on the Australian landmass. Here are my favourites for 2011:
Cyclone Anthony in Queensland (January) Cyclone Bianca in Western Australia (January) Cyclone Yasi in Queensland (February) Cyclone Carlos in the Northern Territory & Western Australia (February) Cyclone Grant in the Northern Territory (December)
NT, Cyclone Grant - heavy rain cut Stuart Highway
The cyclone season is on again and tropical cyclone Grant hit the Northern Territory on the 25th of December 2011. There was a cyclone warning for Dawin but the capital of the Northern Territory got away with it. Grant hit the coast in remote areas of the Territory around 250 kilometres east of Darwin. Grant was a category 2 cyclone and was downgraded into a tropical low after moving further inland. The system made its way eastwards over the Gulf of Carpentaria towards North Queensland. There were fears the system could regain power while moving across the Gulf of Carpentaria. But that was not the case. The system moved as a tropical low across the Cape York Peninsula into the Coral Sea.
There was heavy rainfall in the Northern Territory cutting off the Stuart Highway between Katherine and Darwin. The railway line to Alice Springs was also cut off. A train derailed and lost some copper concentrate with is considered toxic. There are concerns about pollutions to the Edith River. Hundreds of motorists were stranded as well as passengers of The Ghan train. Teams worked 24 hours a day to repair the road. The Stuart Highway was reopened on Thursday evening the 29th of December. The rebuild of the railway line can take weeks.
ABC News 4.1.2012 - Railway line repair continues
Cyclone Grant - roads and rail line cut off
QLD - Cyclone Yasi, a most powerful disaster
The system developed over the Coral Sea and reached severity category five which is the highest level on the scale. The maximum wind gust was estimated of 285 km/h while the system approached the north-eastern coast of Queensland.
The eye of Cyclone Yasi made landfall at Mission Beach (138 km south of Cairns) between midnight and 1 am in the early hours on Thursday the 3rd of February 2011.
The communities of Tully, Silkwood, Innisfail and Mission Beach got the hardest devastation. Cardwell and Tully Heads were hit by a storm surge and were significantly damaged. Tully was described as ground zero, 90 % of the houses in the main street have severe damage.
Magnetic Island recorded waves of 9.5 metres height. Businesses and houses in the near by Townsville were flooded by sea water. The Hinchinbrook marina was totally destroyed; all the boat and yachts were pushed ashore on a big pile.
Roofs were pulled off, houses ripped apart, and roads got flooded. The Bruce Highway was cut. Trees were striped bare, uprooted and tossed around like little matchsticks.
About 175000 properties stayed without power.
A 23-year-old man died from suffocation while using a generator indoors.
Cyclone Yasi brought heavy rain and thunderstorms also into Central Australia. Even Victoria received more wet weather from the system. Mildura got 147 mm of rain just two days after the cyclone hit Queensland. Other TV footage showed some streets of Melbourne under water.
But there is also a good message. A mother gave birth to a baby girl during the cyclone. That happened in an evacuation centre in Cairns. Even a midwife was at the scene and delivered the baby.
The videos below are special cyclone editions provided by Australia’s Channel 10 on You Tube. It shows the massive destruction of cyclone Yasi.
TEN News - Cyclone Yasi Special (1) 4.2.2011
TEN News - Cyclone Yasi Special (2) 4.2.2011
Queensland - Anthony caused minor damage
Cyclone Anthony was observed as a tropical low east of Cairns on the 22nd of January 2011. The system gained power and it was upgraded by the TCWC (Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre) Brisbane into a category 1 cyclone. Anthony moved into the South Pacific and weakened into a tropical low.
Anyway, the system redeveloped into a cyclone and hit finally the coast at Bowen at 9.00 pm local time on the 30th of January 2011. Bowen is located around 540 km south of Cairns. Anthony was a category 2 cyclone while making landfall.
The system caused only minor damage and everyone was happy about the lucky escape. But the more powerful cyclone Yasi was on its way…
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Cyclone Bianca developed from a tropical low in the Gulf of Carpentaria - firstly monitored on the 21st of January 2011. The system got strength and was classified into a category 1 cyclone on the 25th and went up to category 4 on the 28th before it weakened down to category 3 cyclone on the same day. Anyway, at this stage it was a severe tropical cyclone.
The system caused rain and strong winds to the Kimberley and Pilbara coast. Oil and Gas productions in the Pilbara region were shut down and port facilities closed.
Cyclone Bianca moved partly parallel to the coast of Western Australia towards the southwest. The system weakened while moving further south into a cooler high pressure area.
It was expected that Bianca made landfall as a category one cyclone or a strong tropical low at Mandurah on the 30th of January 2011. A cyclone warning issued for an area between Jurien Bay and Albany, but it was called off as the system came to nothing south of Western Australia.
NT - Carlos brought massive rainfall
A tropical low developed near Katherine (approx.300 km southeast of Darwin) on the 13th of February 2011. The system moved north and brought massive rainfall to the region. It gained power and turned into Tropical Cyclone Carlos on the 16th of February. On that day Darwin Airport received the highest ever recorded 24-hours rainfall of 367.6 mm. By the way - Darwin Airport was closed on the 16th.
Severe winds with gust up to 100 km/h caused a huge number of fallen trees. Many roads and power lines were cut. Cyclone Carlos caused widespread inundation in the Darwin-Daly region. The community of Nauiyu was flooded; as a result 300 people were evacuated.
The system was downgraded into a tropical low as it moved southwest across the northern Kimberleys. Ex Cyclone Carlos went offshore near Broome on the 21st of February. The system recharged over the ocean and hit the coast near Karratha as a category 2 cyclone on the 22nd of February.
The system moved close along the coast, past Exmouth in the south and went offshore towards the southwest. Carlos intensified into a category 3 cyclone for a short time. Then the system weakened while moving over cooler waters.
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