Cyclone Yasi – Natural Hazards Report

What is a tropical cyclone?Tropical cyclones are intense low-pressure systems that form over warm oceans. It is a system of winds rotating inward to an area of low atmospheric pressure, with a counter clockwise (northern hemisphere) or clockwise (southern hemisphere) circulation. They cause widespread destruction in Australia and other parts of the world, where they are known as hurricanes or typhoons. Once formed, they can exist for anything from a few days to over three weeks. The paths these storms take are often unpredictable. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology carefully monitors tropical cyclones that form around Australia in case they threaten property and lives.

The causes that lead to Cyclone Yasi from happening: This cyclone developed in the same way as other cyclones: they form in the band between 5°C and 22°C North and South of the Equator over oceans with a water temperature greater than 26.5°C. Warm moist air over these oceans causes low-pressure systems to develop. The rising air forms clouds, which release heat, causing the air to rise further, leading to a tropical storm. If the air pressure in the upper atmosphere is relatively high it will limit the altitude that the warm, moist air can rise to. This high pressure causes the rising air to spiral outwards. Air from the Earth’s surface rushes into the low pressure system to replace the air as it spirals outwards in the upper atmosphere, causing the low pressure to intensify and the spiralling winds to get stronger. This is the stage when it can develop into a mature cyclone, or lose its momentum. Even if it has developed into a mature cyclone, it can still grow in size and increase its wind speed. Condensation occurring in the atmosphere from warm, moist air is the key to the energy that sustains tropical cyclones. They can persist for many days and may follow erratic paths. Once they travel over land or move to cooler oceans, they tend to dissipate as the warm, moist air is no longer present. When this happens, they are downgraded to tropical storms, but still cause problems as they travel inland where they are frequently associated with flooding.

The location of Cyclone Yasi:The town of Mission Beach was hit by the full force of the storm at midnight on the 3rd of February, 2011. Mission beach is located at

coordinates 17° 52' 16" S Latitude and 146° 06' 19" E Longitude. The main part of the cyclone was said to have been an estimated 400

kilometres wide and from near Midge Point to Cooktown (from one end of the cyclone to another) it would’ve gone approximately 900km down the coast of Queensland. Mission Beach is at an altitude of 10.1m above sea level. The nearest village to Mission Beach is Bingil bay, which is about 4.24km away. Cairns, which is the closest major city from Mission Beach, is approximately 140km away.

The cyclone extended as far as Georgetown, 450 kilometres inland. The eye of the cyclone alone was estimated 100km wide and would take an hour to pass, before more intense winds followed. Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology said residents along a more than 600 kilometre coastal strip between Cairns and Proserpine should be prepared for an “extremely dangerous sea level rise” as the cyclone approaches, crosses the coast and moved inland.

Landform and Climate:

The town of Mission Beach is spread out along a thin, flat strip of land between the ocean and the hills and farmland behind. The beach is surrounded by green mountains rising just a short distance inland, and provides views out to the Family Islands. Close to shore at Mission Beach lies a shallow reef which runs from the mouth of Porter's Creek at the south end of North Mission Beach, almost to Clump Point, the rocky point at the north end of Mission Beach. During very low tides portions of this reef are exposed. The climate of Mission Beach consists of hot, humid weather as it is in the Tropical area of Australia (North Queensland). Its maximum temperature is 31°C and the minimum temperature is 21°C. Being in the tropics, Mission Beach has a ‘wet season’ from January to May, which is when most of the 3000mm of rain per year falls and is also when the cyclone hit. The ‘dry season’, in particular June to September is much like a northern hemisphere summer with warm, sunny days and cool nights. During the months of

November through to the end of February, it is the main cyclone season for far north Queensland.

There is a strong relationship between Mission Beach, its climate, and its landform, in terms of cyclones. Mission Beach is located in the Tropical region of Australia, which has the perfect conditions and paths for a cyclone to form and follow. Also, the fact that the land is a long, flat strip is ideal for a cyclone, as it is much easier for it to move over flat land then over hills. Since the land is so vulnerable because of its climate, location and landform, many of the crops that were grown all over North Queensland, including the Australian grown banana crops and the sugar cane crops were completely ruined.

Climate graph of Tropical North Queensland - Cairns

Banana farmers, Ken and Eileen Barnes with their banana crop at Mission Beach

Social Changes:Social impacts include:

Stresses which have been placed on families and people because of deaths, properties being lost, etc.

Insurance losses Destruction of property Destruction of numerous crops Some people are still recovering from the cyclone, now, especially children It has also brought many communities together, helping each other and celebrating the

future, such as the Community Day and Barbeque at Cardwell which 600 people turned up to this year

Environmental Changes:Environmental impacts include:

The deaths and injuries of wildlife in North Queensland The destruction of the natural and human environment Crops and farms have been completely demolished along with houses and properties,

which now all have to be rebuilt Animal habitats destroyed, causing food chains to be broken Litter ends up in the oceans which also destroys animal habitats

Economic Changes: During the past year, $12 million of reconstruction work has been completed on

Cassowary Coast Regional Council’s assets, only a fraction of the expected $174 million bill to fix the damage.

Loss of income for people Damage to so many crops which are still re-growing Loss and destruction of property and insurance losses and livestock losses Economic hardship, due to decline in tourism Food shortage which leads to increased prices Businesses closed down and people are left unemployed Tourism stops for a period of time

What is being done?Individuals: BEFORE

Boarded up their windows Evacuated the areas Stored water and gathered food

Individuals: AFTER Cleaned up the community as volunteers helped each other out Cleaning up the crops Rebuilding houses and crops

Restored power Restored other utilities Searched for injured people

Groups: In December, a two-year $825,000 program kicked off, with natural resource

management groups and indigenous rangers working to improve glider and cassowary habitat through revegetation, fire control and fencing

The State Emergency Service (SES) Redcliffe Group volunteers answered calls for help from Queensland regions affected by floods and cyclone Yasi

Insurance companies – where individuals have insurance cover, they may claim for damages on their insurance policy

Army, police, ambulances – restore the town, emergency repairs to restore key infrastructure such as water, and sewerage. They also helped people in need, getting supplies and equipment, medical assistance, and located survivors

Charities such as the Red Cross – recruiting volunteers to help locate survivors, donate money for rebuilding

Rotary groups – volunteers to help clean up, locate people, assist anyone in anyway needed, donate money

Student groups – student groups that schools organise to go and clean up, assist, and do anything else they can as volunteers

The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) Australia committed $50, 000 to support those affected by the devastating Cyclone Yasi

The Australian Defence Force (ADF) provided support to the Queensland emergency services; they led response and recovery operations in the wake of the Tropical Cyclone Yasi

Government: Built cyclone shelters for future cyclones Building regulations for all buildings built in cyclone zones which make sure they can

withstand wind Julia Gillard had promised the Queensland people that the full resources of the

Australian government would be made available to them The Prime Minister and the Attorney-General announced Commonwealth Government

assistance for people in far North Queensland affected by the impact of Tropical Cyclone Yasi. Financial assistance that was provided included: The Disaster Income Subside, Exgratia payment for New Zealanders affected by flooding, The Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment and the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements.

Australian Army soldiers helping to Tully after Cyclone Yasi, Townsville

Immediate response: An immediate search for missing people Urgent power restoration 4000 soldiers stationed in Townsville Aircraft and helicopters were made available from the defence force Naval vessels that are stationed off Queensland were used as emergency centres Equipment, supplies, food, water and medical equipment were sent Advertising volunteering so everyone knew about the cyclone so they could go and help,

started almost after a day of the disaster Charities such as Red Cross and St Vincent de Paul donated many supplies and money to

the victims

Prevention Strategies: Warning and educating people about what to do if a cyclone was to occur The Australian Crisis Coordination committee advises the government of what is needed

in North Queensland Build cyclone shelters that the whole community can fit in There is a law that any building that is built in these areas has to be able to withstand a

certain level of force so, if there is a cyclone, there is less to rebuild afterwards The towns are being re-built, more stable and in slightly different places to avoid

destruction again

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cost-20110202-1advs.html Geography Focus 2 – geography textbook