2.7 Destruction by Tropical Cyclone Larry

1.     On the 20^th of March 2006 the eye of Cyclone Larry crossed the coast near Innisfail between 6:20am and 7:20am.

2.    The communities closest to the eye wall experienced most damage as it was the main funnel and central power of the cyclone.

3.    Public infrastructure is government funded facilities such as roads, train lines, air travel etc. Damage to this impacted the transportation and evacuation of victims.

4.    The damage cost for Cyclone Larry was AU$350,000,000

5.    Cyclone Larry had a huge impact on the Banana industry as it destroyed over half of the nation’s supply costing AU$330,000,000.

6.    Two groups which help Australian communities live with the threat of natural hazards are the EMA and the SES. They do this by providing broachers and running community workshops to ensure that people are well prepared.

7.    The groups that were involved in the response to Cyclone Larry were the Australian Defence Force, government departments as well as charity and local community groups.

8.    They assisted by offering expertise as well as personnel and financial assistance to local residents, business owners and farmers.

9.    EMA appointed Major General Peter Cosgrove to lead the overall response to Cyclone Larry. He would need the skills to bring back law and order as well as conduction search-and-rescue procedures.

10.  Cyclone Larry caused flooding when it travelled inland.

11.  Cyclone Larry would have had a major impact on the banana supply as the banana industries hit took up 75% of the national supply.

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2.6 Tropical Cyclones – Responding to Nature’s Fury

1. Cyclone Tracy hit in the early hours of 25 December 1974.

2. The local police and community responded to the hazard by setting up evacuation and medical centres.

3. The National Disaster Organisation is a federal government body that helps people in Natural Disaster situations. The NDO was involved due to the mass devastation Tracy had left.

4. The evacuation of Darwin was an essential response to Cyclone Tracy as the whole city was basically flattened.

5. Approximately 80.5% of Darwin’s population was evacuated in the week following Cyclone Tracy

6. Cyclone Tracy has enabled communities to strengthen buildings to withstand cyclones. Time has also gone into management plans so that communities know what to do in times of crisis.

7. On 29 August 2005 Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf of Mexico and the state of Louisiana in the US. It killed over 1400 people and flooded 80% of the city.

8. Due to the fact that New Orleans was built within a low-lying area, it compounded the effects of Hurricane Katrina.

9. All levels of government were criticised for the slow and disorganised response to the hazard.

NDO: The NDO appointed Major General Alan Stretton to coordinate emergency services, local police, army, navy and air force for seven days. 35,000 people were evacuated.

FEMA: The FEMA gave very little resources and took days for them to respond. Violence broke out and police focused on law and order instead of search-and-rescue missions.

2.8 Studying the Weather

1. a.)i. Hobart: 1016

    ii. Port Headland: 1010

    iii. Melbourne: 1018

    iv. Perth: 1019

b.) Port Headland

c.) There is a possible shower in the afternoon, with high wind speeds. Mostly going to be sunny.

d.)i. The Tasman Sea: Cold Fronts

    ii. Central Australia: Winds

    iii. West of Tasmania: Cold Front

e.) Sydney would have stronger winds as the there is a High-Pressure System surrounding

2.5 Tropical Cyclone

1. Tropical Cyclones are intense low-pressure systems that form over warm oceans.

2. Tropical Cyclones form in the band between 5 degrees and 22 degrees N and S of the Equator over oceans with a temperature greater than 26.5 degrees Celsius.

3.Tropical Cyclones mainly effect areas north of Perth along the coasts of WA and the NT. They can also effect the coastline of QU and occasionally north NSW.

4. Six Tropical Cyclones are expected to cross the Australian coastline each year.

5. Tropical Cyclones are also known as Typhoons and Hurricanes

6. Tropical cyclones develop in the tropical regions of the world. Heat from the sun causes warm, moist air to rise into the atmosphere. As the air rises, a low pressure system forms and condensation occurs, which releases latent heat causing the air to rise further into the atmosphere. If the air pressure in the upper atmosphere is high, then the rising column of warm air will spiral outwards in the upper atmosphere and air will rush from the surface to replace it, forming a Tropical Cyclone.

7. The eye of a Tropical Cyclone is the central spiral which happens to be the calmest area of the Cyclone.

8.

9. Tropical Cyclones are downgraded to Tropical Storms when they move over land or cooler water. This is because warm water is no longer available and therefore can not function