Tropical Cyclone Charlotte (and its precursor storm, and its post-cyclone phase) have been dumping lots of rain over tropical Queensland for the past several days, where it's caused floods and damaged roads. The rain is generally welcomed by locals, despite the inconveniences, though some relative newcomers to the region seem a bit shocked.
We're well south of the main storm system, but still getting a fair amount of wind and rain—enough, at least, to rattle the windows and keep us indoors. We've been keeping track of river heights through the Bureau of Meteorology's excellent website, and on Monday we spoke with the salesperson at Carlyle Gardens who said the rain was "bucketing down" there at the time.
Predictions are for an "active" cyclone season all along the Queensland coast this year, even as far south as Brisbane. The last really devastating cyclone to hit Airlie Beach was Ada, a Category 4 which came through the Whitsunday islands on 17 January 1970. At Airlie Beach, 80% of buildings were reported destroyed. The top floor of the Airlie Beach hotel was removed, and the Coral Sea Resort suffered extensive damage. On 1 March 1979, Cyclone Kerry passed the coast near Proserpine, with damage around the Whitsunday resort islands.
In Townsville, the last big cyclone was Althea, on 24 December, 1971. A smaller one, Keith, came past on 31 January, 1977 while I was living in Townsville. It crossed the coast at nearby Cape Cleveland. I recorded the wailing of the cyclone alert sirens and some of the radio announcements. The sound of the heavy rain on the metal roof was incredible.
Probably the best-known cyclone to hit Australia was Cyclone Tracy, the Christmas-eve storm that destroyed most of Darwin in 1974. A more recent well-known storm was Cyclone Larry, 20 March 2006, which caused severe damage to the town of Innisfail and pretty much destroyed the North Queensland banana crop for that season.
The Bureau of Meteorology explains tropical cyclones, and shows the storm tracks over Australia.
