What was the environmental impact of cyclone tracy

On Christmas Eve , a massive cyclone smashed into Darwin, killing 71 people and severely disrupting the lives of thousands of residents. The city had to be virtually rebuilt: Old Darwin had to make way for New Darwin. To those not affected by the tragedy, it still commands attention for its emotional drama.

Toys for the kids from Santa; plans for Christmas lunch; all the comforts and conveniences taken for granted in modern city like Darwin — all gone in one terrible night.

Warning: The Story of Cyclone Tracy focuses on stories of a broad range of individuals and families who lived through the event. Sophie Cunningham's key source is a collection of oral history interview transcripts of Tracy survivors held at the Northern Territories Archives Service, supplemented by her own interviews and other sources.

One of the strengths of the book is the fact that multiple perspectives on Tracy are represented: Territory officials, police, academics, young families starting out, the media, pilots, teenagers, Aboriginal people, among others.

The experiences of women in a male-dominated disaster environment are given considerable, well-merited attention. Most of the interview transcripts to which Cunningham refers date from And all I had on was a nightie. Darwin, indeed the whole of Northern Australia, is no stranger to cyclones. However, Cyclone Tracy, which hit Darwin in the small hours of Christmas Day , was among the most destructive ever recorded in Australia. Its vital statistics make for frightening reading:.

The cyclone crossed the coast near Fannie Bay at around 3. Had it struck during the daytime, the death toll could have been much higher. Most of those who lost their lives were killed by flying debris or crushed beneath their houses. In the immediate aftermath of the cyclone, evacuation of the majority of the population was considered essential given there was no running water, no sanitation, no electricity, little shelter and a high risk of disease outbreaks.

More than 36, people left Darwin, filling the planes that had arrived with supplies, equipment and specialised personnel.

News of the disaster took hours to reach the rest of the country. Voluntary organisations swung into gear, many sending in teams as soon as news of the disaster broke. Joan Allridge, Vice President of the Red Cross who spent the hours of the cyclone under her kitchen table with two other adults, six children, one cat, four kittens, one dog and three birds recalled how essential those early fly-in support workers were.

It was first announced as a tropical cyclone one day after, on the 21 st of December. The whole food chain in the area has been damaged and it is predicted that for the next few months there will be dead marine dwelling creatures along the Darwin coastline as the food chain recovers from its fatalities.

Community groups and charities all over the country are launching fundraising activities and other initiatives to give help to cyclone victims. Donations of clothing, food, materials and other temporary shelter from fellow Australians are sent to evacuation shelters here in Darwin to help the people who lost their homes and possessions.

The noise was deafening, with hurricane winds, flying debris, and breaking glass all around. All public services — communications, power, water and sewerage — were severed. After the storm passed, the city was physically rebuilt using modern materials and updated building techniques, but some would argue that the communities existing before the cyclone were gone forever.