1910–1921 Australian region cyclone seasons
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1910–11 cyclone season
Cyclone 1
On 19 November 1911, a cyclone touched land in Western Australia when it had a minimum pressure of 965 hPa.Cyclone 2
A long-lived weak cyclone formed in the Gulf of Carpenteria on 3 January, and made landfall with a pressure of 996 hPa.Cyclone 3
On 4 January 1911 a cyclone affected the Pilbara coast between Cossack and OnslowOnslow, Western Australia
Onslow is a coastal town in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, north of Perth. It currently has a population of around 573 people and is in the Shire of Ashburton Local Government Area....
. The Glenbank was wrecked off Legendre Island with the loss of all but one of its crew. The cyclone crossed near Mardie station where nearly every outbuilding was levelled to the ground and 6000-gallon tanks were blown away.
Cyclone 6
This cyclone approached the Queensland coast near Townsville, Australia, but took a sharp turn away from the coast on 22 March.Cyclone 7
The cyclone came ashore between Cape Upstart and Cape Bowling Green. The ship 'Yongala' was completely destroyed, with the loss of all 120 people on board.http://www.bom.gov.au/lam/climate/levelthree/c20thc/cyclone7.htmUnnamed tropical cyclone near Port Hedland (1912)
This cyclone crossed the coast just west of Balla Balla near Port Hedland and claimed well over 150 lives. It is almost certainly Australia's worst weather-related maritime disaster since Federation with the loss of the coastal steamer Koombana.http://www.bom.gov.au/lam/climate/levelthree/c20thc/cyclone1.htm1918 Mackay cyclone
The 1918 Mackay cyclone struck the city of Mackay, QueenslandMackay, Queensland
Mackay is a city on the eastern coast of Queensland, Australia, about north of Brisbane, on the Pioneer River. Mackay is nicknamed the sugar capital of Australia because its region produces more than a third of Australia's cane sugar....
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
on 21 January 1918. It remains one of the most destructive cyclone
Cyclone
In meteorology, a cyclone is an area of closed, circular fluid motion rotating in the same direction as the Earth. This is usually characterized by inward spiraling winds that rotate anticlockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere of the Earth. Most large-scale...
s to strike a populated centre in Australia.
The eye of the storm passed to the north of the city just after sunrise. During the height of the storm, barometric pressure was recorded at 932.6 hPa, one of the lowest recordings in Australia. However, the pressure was probably a lot lower, as the barometer would not go beyond 932.6 hPa, and the eye of the storm did not cross directly over Mackay where the measurement was taken. The meteorologist at the time stated that the barometer was at its maximum low reading for at least 30 minutes before the cyclone moved inland and away, allowing the pressure to finally rise. Few buildings in the centre of Mackay escaped without significant structural damage. The accompanying storm surge resulted in a sea-level-rise of 2.36 metres above the highest spring tide level, with one witness later recalling waves of 2–3 metres breaking in the main street.
Communication links into Mackay were destroyed. The outside world did not learn of the Mackay cyclone until five days after impact, leading to some speculation the city had been completely destroyed.
Record amounts of rainfall were recorded in Mackay, the totals to 9 a.m. are as follows:
- 22 Jan – 627mm
- 23 Jan – 438mm
- 24 Jan – 346mm
- Total rainfall for January – 2161mm
The rainfall resulted in the Pioneer River's highest flood level at the time, which took 2 weeks to subside.
Damage wasn't limited to Mackay. In Rockhampton
Rockhampton, Queensland
Rockhampton is a city and local government area in Queensland, Australia. The city lies on the Fitzroy River, approximately from the river mouth, and some north of the state capital, Brisbane....
, over 350 km south of Mackay, houses lost their roofs and solid jacaranda trees were uprooted. Extensive structural damage was also reported in Yeppoon
Yeppoon, Queensland
Yeppoon is a coastal resort town situated in Central Queensland, Australia. Located on Keppel Bay, at the 2006 census, Yeppoon had a population of 13,284.-Geography:...
and Mount Morgan
Mount Morgan, Queensland
Mount Morgan is a town located in central Queensland, Australia. It is situated on the Dee River, 38 kilometres south of the city of Rockhampton, and is 680 kilometres north of the state capital, Brisbane. The Burnett Highway passes through the town...
. Rainfall associated with the cyclonic system was responsible for the big Rockhampton Flood of 1918 in February.
A total of thirty people perished in the disaster, including two in Rockhampton and another in Yeppoon.
1918 Innisfail cyclone
The 1918 Innisfail cyclone made landfall in the area around Innisfail, QueenslandInnisfail, Queensland
Innisfail is a town located in the far north of the state of Queensland, Australia. It is the major township of the Cassowary Coast and is well renowned for its sugar and banana industries, as well as for being one of Australia's wettest towns...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
on 10 March 1918. It was more severe than the earlier Mackay storm. Only 12 houses survived being unroofed or totally destroyed. Damage was also sustained in Cairns, 100 km to the north, and inland to the Atherton Tableland. A 3.6m storm surge was experienced to the south at Mission Beach
Mission Beach, Queensland
Mission Beach is a small village along the Coral Sea in Queensland, Australia. The popular tourist destination of Dunk Island lies 4 km offshore.-History:...
. 37 people were killed in Innisfail, and an estimated 40 to 60 more in outlying areas. The lowest pressure recorded was 926hPa, but again, damage to recording equipment meant that no accurate minimum for the storm's center survived. Estimates place the figure below 910hPa.
Following this destruction, the area experienced a period of prosperity in the local agricultural industries. This led to the construction of many buildings in a grand art-deco style.