1. the map
2. the causes
In the early hours of the morning on February 3, 2011, Category five Cyclone ‘Yasi’ crossed the far north Queensland coast near Mission Beach.
The two main factors that create any tropical cyclone is a warm body of water, at least 27 degrees Celsius and a gathering of cumulonimbus clouds. The warm, typically tropical ocean, evaporates and forms cloud while releasing heat energy. The continuous release of heat means the evaporation process is accelerated and combined with the Earth's rotation, encourages thunderstorm activity. The rotation of the Earth helps to maintain the low pressure system and a pre-existing movement of the water creates the spinning effect found in cyclones (Australian Geographic, 2013). Cyclone Yasi occured simply because all the weather factors to make a cyclone were right; warm, tropical seas and cumulonimbus clouds.
The most dangerous part of any cyclone is the dense wall of cloud surrounding the eye (a cyclones's low pressure centre), characterised by calm skies and light wind. The eye of any cyclone usually measures around 40km in diameter, however Yasi's measured approximately 100km in diameter. Cyclone Yasi's system was so large because of its prolonged journey across tropical seas and brought peak wind gusts estimated at 285 kilometres per hour.
Cyclone Yasi formed 330 km off the northwest coast of Fiji. It was first classified as a tropical disturbance on the 26th January and was located 370 km northeast of Vanuatu by the time it was classified as a tropical cyclone. Yasi then travelled across the Coral Sea and hit mainland Australia near Mission Beach at midnight on February 3rd.
As Yasi travelled from North Vanuatu to the Queensland coast, the only landmass in Cyclone Yasi's path was New Caledonia, which did not affect the cyclone’s growing intensity. Therefore Cyclone Yasi travelled approximately 2396km across tropical oceans, growing and accelerating as it moved.
The two main factors that create any tropical cyclone is a warm body of water, at least 27 degrees Celsius and a gathering of cumulonimbus clouds. The warm, typically tropical ocean, evaporates and forms cloud while releasing heat energy. The continuous release of heat means the evaporation process is accelerated and combined with the Earth's rotation, encourages thunderstorm activity. The rotation of the Earth helps to maintain the low pressure system and a pre-existing movement of the water creates the spinning effect found in cyclones (Australian Geographic, 2013). Cyclone Yasi occured simply because all the weather factors to make a cyclone were right; warm, tropical seas and cumulonimbus clouds.
The most dangerous part of any cyclone is the dense wall of cloud surrounding the eye (a cyclones's low pressure centre), characterised by calm skies and light wind. The eye of any cyclone usually measures around 40km in diameter, however Yasi's measured approximately 100km in diameter. Cyclone Yasi's system was so large because of its prolonged journey across tropical seas and brought peak wind gusts estimated at 285 kilometres per hour.
Cyclone Yasi formed 330 km off the northwest coast of Fiji. It was first classified as a tropical disturbance on the 26th January and was located 370 km northeast of Vanuatu by the time it was classified as a tropical cyclone. Yasi then travelled across the Coral Sea and hit mainland Australia near Mission Beach at midnight on February 3rd.
As Yasi travelled from North Vanuatu to the Queensland coast, the only landmass in Cyclone Yasi's path was New Caledonia, which did not affect the cyclone’s growing intensity. Therefore Cyclone Yasi travelled approximately 2396km across tropical oceans, growing and accelerating as it moved.
This photo shows the track and intensity information map for Cyclone Yasi, where the red/yellow coloured circles indicate area of highest intensity and the blue areas indicate calmer conditions.
(Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/specials/yasi/)
(Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/specials/yasi/)
3. the effects
Queensland Treasurer Andrew Fraser said damage from Cyclone Yasi was expected to reach $800 million. The insurance industry said the number of cyclone-related claims reached over 50,000, with insured losses estimated at $655 million months after the disaster.
North Queensland's major cities, Cairns and Townsville, did not experience extreme counts of damage, although large trees were uprooted and power lines brought down. Instead smaller towns received more destruction.
Tully, Mission Beach, Cardwell, Silkwood and Innisfail were all affected immediately by the cyclone. Thousands of houses had their roofs torn off and about 1,000 people reported significant damage to their homes. The storm cut power to more than 200,000 properties and a month after the cyclone hit there were still 700 properties without power - as they had not been deemed 'safe' for reconnection. The tidal surge in the town of Cardwell came close to the predicted 7m level and authorities in the town found boats swept two blocks inland along with the badly damaged Pacific Highway beside the town.
The Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Economics and Sciences estimated the cyclone caused a $300 million hit to agricultural production, with banana and sugar cane crops particularly badly affected, as well as a loss of vegetation and spread of weeds.
Cyclone Yasi also passed over the Great Barrier Reef, causing serous damage to the 13% of the reef that was exposed. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority initial damage assessments found that Yasi had left varying levels of destruction to 300km of the reef. The strong storm surge also washed toxic chemicals and unhealthy debris into the ocean around the Reef, and experts predict that it will take up to 20 years for the Reef to fully recover. Professor Bill Laurance, a conservation biologist at James Cook University reported that in some areas only the trunks of trees are left.
"A category five or category four cyclone can really effect dramatic damage to a forest and in these exposed areas it just looks like somebody's gone through and just shredded the vegetation in some cases - it's almost akin to deforestation," he said.
Cyclone Yasi also destroyed almost 150 homes and left 650 uninhabitable when it crossed the north Queensland coast, as well as leaving victims with anxiety, post traumatic stress and other mental health issues.
North Queensland's major cities, Cairns and Townsville, did not experience extreme counts of damage, although large trees were uprooted and power lines brought down. Instead smaller towns received more destruction.
Tully, Mission Beach, Cardwell, Silkwood and Innisfail were all affected immediately by the cyclone. Thousands of houses had their roofs torn off and about 1,000 people reported significant damage to their homes. The storm cut power to more than 200,000 properties and a month after the cyclone hit there were still 700 properties without power - as they had not been deemed 'safe' for reconnection. The tidal surge in the town of Cardwell came close to the predicted 7m level and authorities in the town found boats swept two blocks inland along with the badly damaged Pacific Highway beside the town.
The Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Economics and Sciences estimated the cyclone caused a $300 million hit to agricultural production, with banana and sugar cane crops particularly badly affected, as well as a loss of vegetation and spread of weeds.
Cyclone Yasi also passed over the Great Barrier Reef, causing serous damage to the 13% of the reef that was exposed. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority initial damage assessments found that Yasi had left varying levels of destruction to 300km of the reef. The strong storm surge also washed toxic chemicals and unhealthy debris into the ocean around the Reef, and experts predict that it will take up to 20 years for the Reef to fully recover. Professor Bill Laurance, a conservation biologist at James Cook University reported that in some areas only the trunks of trees are left.
"A category five or category four cyclone can really effect dramatic damage to a forest and in these exposed areas it just looks like somebody's gone through and just shredded the vegetation in some cases - it's almost akin to deforestation," he said.
Cyclone Yasi also destroyed almost 150 homes and left 650 uninhabitable when it crossed the north Queensland coast, as well as leaving victims with anxiety, post traumatic stress and other mental health issues.
An example of the type of destruction caused by Cyclone Yasi. This woman stands outside what remains of the local senior centre that she helped evacuate people from.
(Source: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/cyclone-yasi-pictures/)
(Source: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/cyclone-yasi-pictures/)
An overhead view of destruction in Cardwell. These trees were uprooted when the disaster occured. Other towns in the area lay across roads and blocked the flow of traffic. *same source as above.
4. the response
Premier Anna Bligh toured the region closely following the devastation left by Cyclone Yasi, and then headed back to Brisbane for high level talks about resupplying the north. The Queensland Government appointed Major General Mick Slater to lead the Queensland Reconstruction Authority and oversee rebuilding efforts across the state.
"We can rebuild the roads and the bridges and the schools and the like but what is going to take a long time is for people to rebuild their lives," Major General Slater said.
The North Queensland government also implemented the Disaster Income Recovery Subsidy, The Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment and the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements scheme to help with people affected by the disaster.
The Federal Government offered financial support for those affected by Yasi, with Centrelink processing more than $250 million worth of recovery grants in the three weeks after the storm. The Commonwealth also offered financial help to cyclone-hit farmers, with concessional loans of up to $650,000. Prime Minister Gillard announced that all troops based in Townsville would help clean up cyclone-hit north Queensland in the biggest deployment since Cyclone Tracy:
"We have a large standing presence here in Townsville and in this region and so there's 4000 soldiers being able to assist during the cyclone recovery,” Gillard said.
Despite the immense support by the government, organisations and NGO’s were vital in the aftermath of Cyclone Yasi, such as Ergon Energy who replaced about 600 kilometres of cable in homes across Queensland. Learning from previous cyclones such as Cyclone Larry, emergency services were more effective in warning communities before the disaster hit - with the RAAF (Royal Flying Doctor Service) flying hundreds of patients to Brisbane before Cyclone Yasi hit land. The Navy was also informed and ready to move their ships to surrounding beaches to use as evacuation centres if needed.
Members of the Red Cross, Lifeline and St. Vincent de Paul were brought in from Brisbane to help man the evacuation and support centres and were located in all affected towns to assist homeless and traumatised victims back to safety. The Red Cross also worked with local governments, The Department of Communities and other partner agencies to assist residents across Queensland. The organisation also distributed a range of useful resources such as:
- 'Cleaning up after an Emergency: Dealing with Wind and Water damage'
- Coping with a Major Personal Crisis, an after the Emergency Activity Guide for Children'
- 'Helping Children and Young People cope with Crisis.'
Alongside the government members and teams assisting with the crisis, many NGO's are developing plans that see the implementation of preparation plans for the future, just in case a disaster of this magnitude ever occurs again.
We can only hope that Queensland has fought it's fight now, but in the future, nothing is certain and a disaster like this could just strike again.
"We can rebuild the roads and the bridges and the schools and the like but what is going to take a long time is for people to rebuild their lives," Major General Slater said.
The North Queensland government also implemented the Disaster Income Recovery Subsidy, The Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment and the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements scheme to help with people affected by the disaster.
The Federal Government offered financial support for those affected by Yasi, with Centrelink processing more than $250 million worth of recovery grants in the three weeks after the storm. The Commonwealth also offered financial help to cyclone-hit farmers, with concessional loans of up to $650,000. Prime Minister Gillard announced that all troops based in Townsville would help clean up cyclone-hit north Queensland in the biggest deployment since Cyclone Tracy:
"We have a large standing presence here in Townsville and in this region and so there's 4000 soldiers being able to assist during the cyclone recovery,” Gillard said.
Despite the immense support by the government, organisations and NGO’s were vital in the aftermath of Cyclone Yasi, such as Ergon Energy who replaced about 600 kilometres of cable in homes across Queensland. Learning from previous cyclones such as Cyclone Larry, emergency services were more effective in warning communities before the disaster hit - with the RAAF (Royal Flying Doctor Service) flying hundreds of patients to Brisbane before Cyclone Yasi hit land. The Navy was also informed and ready to move their ships to surrounding beaches to use as evacuation centres if needed.
Members of the Red Cross, Lifeline and St. Vincent de Paul were brought in from Brisbane to help man the evacuation and support centres and were located in all affected towns to assist homeless and traumatised victims back to safety. The Red Cross also worked with local governments, The Department of Communities and other partner agencies to assist residents across Queensland. The organisation also distributed a range of useful resources such as:
- 'Cleaning up after an Emergency: Dealing with Wind and Water damage'
- Coping with a Major Personal Crisis, an after the Emergency Activity Guide for Children'
- 'Helping Children and Young People cope with Crisis.'
Alongside the government members and teams assisting with the crisis, many NGO's are developing plans that see the implementation of preparation plans for the future, just in case a disaster of this magnitude ever occurs again.
We can only hope that Queensland has fought it's fight now, but in the future, nothing is certain and a disaster like this could just strike again.
Evacuees rest at Sport Complex, set up by Red Cross in Cairns as they wait for Cyclone Yasi to hit.
(Source: http://www.themorningbulletin.com.au/news/night-of-terror-cyclone-yasi/760071/)
(Source: http://www.themorningbulletin.com.au/news/night-of-terror-cyclone-yasi/760071/)
Words by Lotte Beckett, 28th August 2014