1974–75 Australian region cyclone season
The 1974–75 Australian region cyclone season was an above average, and destructive tropical cyclone season, notable for producing Severe Tropical Cyclone Tracy, a small, yet powerful storm, which destroyed the majority of buildings inside of Darwin upon landfall, during December 25 1974.
Systems
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from:17/10/1974 till:25/10/1974 color:C2 text:"Marcia "
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Tropical Cyclone Marcia
The first named storm of the season developed as a small depression out over the open waters of the southern Indian Ocean. Over the following three days, the system gradually developed into a tropical cyclone as it tracked towards the southeast. On 18 October, a ship named Alkuwait encountered the storm and reported winds near hurricane-force; however, the satellite presentation of the system was not supportive of these winds. Later named Marcia, the storm is estimated to have attained peak winds around on 20 October. Around this time Marcia also attained a barometric pressure of 989 mbar. The following day, as the storm was situated west-southwest of the Cocos Islands, the outer bands of Marcia brought unsettled weather to the islands. On 22 October, the storm slowed and began tracking towards the west. A weakened system, the remnants of Marcia crossed 90°E into the South-West Indian Ocean basin.Tropical Cyclone Norah
Cyclone Norah existed over the eastern Indian Ocean from October 28 to November 4.Tropical Cyclone Penny
Cyclone Penny also existed over the eastern Indian Ocean from November 6 to November 16.Severe Tropical Cyclone Selma
On December 4th Peter Griffin Said Cyclone Selma was predicted to impact Darwin, but instead, the system turned westward out to sea and eventually dissipated over open water.Severe Tropical Cyclone Tracy
Cyclone Tracy devastated the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, from Christmas Eve to Christmas Day, 1974. It is the most compact cyclone or equivalent-strength hurricane on record in the Australian basin, with gale-force winds extending only from the centre and was the most compact system worldwide until Tropical Storm Marco of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season broke the record, with gale-force winds extending only from the centre. After forming over the Arafura Sea, the storm moved southwards and affected the city with Category 4 winds on the Australian cyclone intensity scale, while there is evidence to suggest that it had reached Category 3 on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale when it made landfall.Tracy killed 71 people, caused 837 million in damage and destroyed more than 70 percent of Darwin's buildings, including 80 percent of houses. Tracy left more than 41,000 out of the 47,000 inhabitants of the city homeless prior to landfall and required the evacuation of over 30,000 people. Most of Darwin's population was evacuated to Adelaide, Whyalla, Alice Springs and Sydney, and many never returned to the city. After the storm passed, the city was rebuilt using more modern materials and updated building techniques. Bruce Stannard of The Age stated that Cyclone Tracy was a "disaster of the first magnitude... without parallel in Australia's history."