Cyclone Tracy is another one of the most impressive Category 5 tropical cyclones on record. It was the smallest storm of its kind on record until Tropical Cyclone Marco of 2008. Tracy was also extremely slow-moving, so the duration of its most intense winds likely added to the devastation. It also struck on Christmas Day, and due to this the suburb of Darwin, Australia was extremely unprepared, the TV news station only had a skeleton crew on staff due to holiday leave and many in Darwin didn't take any precautions due to wanting to celebrate the holiday. What added to the destruction was that most houses in Darwin were constructed quickly in the 50’s and 60’s, causing many developers to turn a blind eye to the structural codes and not bother with making them cyclone-proof.
The base of a steel electricity pole bent by Tracy.
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Memorial at Casuarina High School assembled from three house girders twisted by Cyclone Tracy.
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Extreme wind damage in Casuarina, one of Darwin’s northern suburbs. Entire forests were stripped of leaves and branches by the storm, an indication of extreme intensity (Image by Rick Stevens).
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□ The city of Darwin, which sits alone atop Australia’s northern coastline, experienced a large surge of development in the years following World War II. Despite the existence of fairly standard bu…
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