Australia Braces For 'Worst-Ever' Cyclone

[Minstrel Boy]

http://network.news.com.au/image/0,10114,5143583,00.jpg

Australia Braces For 'Worst-Ever' Cyclone

Apr 24, 2006

(AP) SYDNEY Residents of the northern city of Darwin were preparing Monday for the onslaught of a severe tropical cyclone, forecast to be one of the worst-ever storms to hit Australia.

Fishermen were securing their boats and a uranium mine halted operations as Category 5 cyclone Monica, packing winds of up to 217 mph, hovered around 275 miles northeast of Darwin on Monday afternoon, lashing sparsely populated islands off Australia's Northern Territory, according to the national Bureau of Meteorology.

Senior forecaster Gordon Jackson said the storm was "quite possibly" the worst cyclone to hit Australia — more powerful than even Cyclone Tracy, which struck Darwin on Christmas Eve 1974, leveling the city and killing 65 people.

...

Monica comes just one month after category-five Cyclone Larry tore through the rural community of Innisfail, about 60 miles south of Cairns, destroying thousands of homes and devastating banana and sugar cane plantations.

http://cbs5.com/topstories/topstories_story_114095052.html


Darwin fears worst as cyclone roars in

By Lindsay Murdoch, Darwin
April 24, 2006


...


With winds in its core of up to 360 km/h, Monica's category five intensity has alarmed weather forecasters who tracked the cyclone since it formed in the Coral Sea weeks ago.

"It's quite compact," said Gordon Jackson, a senior forecaster with the bureau. "It has gale-force winds 200 kilometres across with its eye 40 kilometres across," he said.

"It looks like Darwin will definitely get destructive winds."

Monica has remained far stronger than Tracy, which wiped out Darwin 30 years ago, as it has moved westerly from far north Queensland where it caused serious flooding last week.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/darwin-fears-worst-as-cyclone-roars-in/2006/04/23/1145730811701.html

http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2006/04/23/darwin_wideweb__470x311,0.jpg


Bunkered down: Top End braces for Monica's wallop

April 24, 2006

THE most intense cyclone in Top End history is threatening remote Aboriginal communities on Australia's northern coastline and Elcho Island where 2000 residents were last night sheltering from destructive winds.

As people in the Galiwin'ku community on Elcho Island sheltered in cyclone-coded buildings, the Northern Territory Bureau of Meteorology extended the cyclone watch area to include the Tiwi Islands and Darwin.

Cyclone Monica, which brought floods to far north Queensland last week, could hit Darwin tomorrow morning, senior forecaster Gordon Jackson said last night.

...

David Wilson, a resident of Galiwin'ku, 550 kilometres east of Darwin in North-East Arnhem Land, said residents were evacuated from low lying areas and taken to a cyclone-coded school. "Everything else has been just nailed down," Mr Wilson told ABC radio.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/bunkered-down-top-end-braces-for-monicas-wallop/2006/04/23/1145730809340.html

[modrepub]

1. Not fun

My father went through a super typhoon on Guam several years back. The peak winds were around 200mph. They were probably higher because the instrument tower blew over at that point. Hopefully most of their structures are made of cement.

[virgdem]

16. Oh the memories...

My husband and I were forward deployed to Guam from 1991-93. I lived through one super Typhoon and 6 really bad Typhoons. All within a two month period. At the end, I think I was suffering from PTSD from all of the angst from these horrible storms. I even have an "I survived Typhoon Omar" T-shirt as a souvenir. When someone asks my opinion of Guam, this is my stock answer: "Hell with Palm Trees"

One good thing though - I brought back five beautiful cats from Guam, four of which are still with me.

[modrepub]

18. Still have some family there

I always keep an eye on things during typhoon season. It's a nice place but it has some real problems. Most of my cousins leave the island to find better jogs in the states. Have always had people comment about the island when they see my last name (common for the island but very uncommon state side). Things may change if the island lands one of the Navy's carrier groups.

[madrchsod]

2. link

ftp://ftp.jcu.edu.au/JCUMetSat/ausmovie.gif
ausmovie.gif (GIF Image, 320x256 pixels)

[KyndCulture]

3. Will be interesting to see how Australia

deals with their people after the storm. Bet it'll be a helluva lot better than we did!

[Warpy]

14. People south of Cairns did grumble after

the cyclone of several weeks ago, but it seems that the government did step in and get water and power restored quickly.

It's hard to get real word out of rural areas there, so it's unclear whether or not insurance companies there are as balky as the ones here when it comes to coughing up the money to put roofs back on houses.

Since there haven't been any headlines in the local papers there, I'd have to ASSume that the folks are gettting their repairs done with few complaints.

I have a pal in Darwin. I sincerely hope he and his grocery store come throgh this OK.

[spindrifter]

4. I hope the Atlantic storms

don't escalate like the Pacific ones have been doing this year, FEMA.

[Lerkfish]

5. let's compare how quickly Bush offers aid compared to katrina

my guess is he'll offer assistance within 24 hours of the main devastation.

[KyndCulture]

7. That would just figure...

[snappyturtle]

10. With this...he's damned if.....

he does and damned if he doesn't! Ha!

[KyndCulture]

13. Just the way I like him. nt.

[Lorien]

6. 217 mph winds will scour the earth clean

I hope that everyone packs up what they can and gets the hell out of it's path. Nothing will be left standing when that monster passes through.

[Up2Late]

12. Try to keep in mind that they use a different scale and are referring

to wind gusts, the current sustained winds are at about 155 knots (178 mph), but yes, this is a very intense storm.

<http://tsr.mssl.ucl.ac.uk/tracker/dynamic/200623P_0.html>

[xchrom]

8. should we send random australian a tasteful rain outfit?

[KyndCulture]

9. Maybe chimpboy could go make a speech. nt.

[xchrom]

11. that could make the rain go away from boredom.

but i'm sure random australian would suffer horribly.

[Haole Girl]

15. Very serious. Could be the worst ever they say.....

Monica could be worse than Tracy

By JADE BILOWOL

April 25, 2006

ONE of the most severe storms ever to strike Australia crossed the Northern Territory coastline last night.

Monica, a category five cyclone with winds of up to 350km/h near its core, hit Maningrida in the territory's far north just after 8pm.

A Bureau of Metrology spokeswoman said Monica was extremely dangerous, carrying terrifying gale force winds.

"The winds are incredibly strong and gales will continue to be felt in areas long after the core of the cyclone has passed," she said.

"This is one of the worst storms to ever hit the area and is heading at the moment in west-southwest direction."

http://dailytelegraph.news.com.au/story/0,20281,18921773-5001021,00.html

[electron_blue]

17. crap! that's one powerful storm.

sending good wishes their way.

[KamaAina]

19. Update: Monica weakens, may 'miss Darwin'

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/monica-weakens-may-miss-darwin/2006/04/25/1145861312287.html

Cyclone Monica has been downgraded to a category two, and its destructive core will miss Darwin if it stays its current course, forecasters say.

Monica was near Jabiru in the Kakadu National Park with destructive winds up to 125kmh, the Bureau of Meteorology reported at 6.30am today.

The cyclone is predicted to weaken during the day as it moves towards the towns of Batchelor and Adelaide River, largely missing Darwin.

Darwin was still in a cyclone warning zone, but looked likely to escape the brunt of the winds, supervising meteorologist Andrew Tupper said.

Phew! So much for all the asshats on the Yahoo! discussion boards posting crap like "Nagin's on his way right now".

[HeeBGBz]

20. Looks like this is what we can expect for the coming season

Hope the coast is ready.