What was Cyclone Tracy?
Q: What was Cyclone Tracy?
A: Cyclone Tracy was a tropical cyclone that destroyed the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, from Christmas Eve to Christmas Day in 1974.
Q: How compact was it compared to other cyclones?
A: Cyclone Tracy is the most compact tropical cyclone on record in Australia, with gale force winds reaching out only 48 km (30 mi) from its centre. It is also the second most compact cyclone in the world; Tropical Storm Marco of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season had gale-force winds reaching only 19 km (12 mi) from its centre.
Q: What category did it reach when it made landfall?
A: It is possible that Cyclone Tracy reached Category 3 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale when it made landfall.
Q: How many people died as a result of this storm?
A: 71 people were killed by Cyclone Tracy and more than 30,000 people had to leave Darwin due to destruction caused by the storm.
Q: How much damage did it cause?
A: The storm caused $837 million in damage (1974 AUD) and destroyed more than 70% of Darwin's buildings, including 80% of houses.
Q: Where were most of Darwin's population moved after the storm?
A: Most of Darwin's population were moved to Adelaide, Whyalla, Alice Springs and Sydney after Cyclone Tracy hit.
Q: What did Bruce Stannard say about this disaster?
A: Bruce Stannard stated that Cyclone Tracy was "a disaster ... without parallel in Australia's history."
