Right, so after only a few days of being here, there was a cyclone warning. Quite exciting for someone like myself who has never encountered such a thing before. On Tuesday we were in a Category 2 Cyclone Alert and they closed the schools here in Darwin for the day. However, the cyclone changed direction and by Tuesday night the alert was lifted. Again today we were issued with a cyclone warning. It sure does seem these warnings are going to be a part of life for those of us living on the northern coastline of Australia, especially between the months of November to April. Though it's really not at all suprising when you think of the destruction and deaths that occurred in 1974 on Christmas Eve/Day when Cyclone Tracy basely all but flattened the City of Darwin.
Tracy killed 71 people, caused $837 million in damage (1974 AUD) and destroyed more than 70 percent of Darwin's buildings, including 80 percent of houses. Tracy left more than 41,000 out of the 47,000 inhabitants of the city homeless prior to landfall and required the evacuation of over 30,000 people. Most of Darwin's population was evacuated to Adelaide, Whyalla, Alice Springs and Sydney, and many never returned to the city. After the storm passed, the city was rebuilt using more modern materials and updated building techniques.
It's impossible to imagine living through such devastation. Yet a lot of the locals who are in their 40's and over lived through Cyclone Tracy and so take cyclone warnings as serious business which really explains why it dominates the local news here a lot too. I do remember studying Cyclone Tracy in Geography at High School but I don't think the enormity of it or human cost really hit home until now. When you look at Darwin now rebuilt, I can't help but wonder about what the new Christchurch rebuild will be like.
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