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Cyclone Tracy struck Darwin, Australia early Christmas morning in 1974. The storm destroyed huge sections of town, and wiped out nearby suburbs. Sixty-five people were dead or missing at sea. As well as concrete, glass and metal debris, Cycone Tracy hurled food all over the city. After the storm passed, tonnes of meat, fruit and vegetables began to rot in the hot tropical sun. Crop dusting planes sprayed insecticide over parts of the city area to help prevent the spread of disease. |
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During the storm, most people sheltered deep within their homes. However, many of these homes were poorly designed to withstand a cyclone. Several people were pierced, crushed or suffocated by their own homes collapsing down on them. Some died outside their homes, decieved by the calm when the eye of the storm passed overhead. These people left their shelters during the brief lull, only to be caught out in the furious winds when the remainder of the cyclone struck. |
Most of the buildings that withstood Cyclone Tracy were large offices, flats and schools. These buildings were used to house more than twenty thousand homeless people after the storm had passed. The majority of these people had to be temporarily evacuated from Darwin. When the city was finally reconstructed, new buildings were designed to be more cyclone resistant.
