What the hell is WRONG with us?

[builder]

Australia's Darwin got the Christmas present from hell back in 1974. Nowhere near the scale of Katrina, but the full force of a category four cyclone (same as a hurricane, spinning the other way), and the city was completely demolished.

www.amazingaustralia.com.au/ disasters.htm

On Christmas Day 1974 the city of Darwin was hit by cyclone Tracy.

Normally people are given warnings a long time before a cyclone hits and people get prepared for it but most of the Darwin residents were too busy celebrating Christmas so when the full force of Tracy hit most people were taken by surprise.

Countless houses were totally destroyed, ( out of 11200 houses only 400 survived intact), 25 ships sunk in the harbour, 35 planes destroyed at the airport and all communications were cut so the rest of the country didn't even know until a radio-amateur dug some gear out of his cellar and contacted someone in Sydney after which the rescue operation swung into action.

As many people as possible were immediately evacuated on some record breaking flights to Adelaide,( planes do not usually have passengers sitting in the aisles). The death toll of 66 was not as high as one would expect considering the devastation though there are people that claim lots of bodies were dumped in massgraves and not counted. Insurance companies ended up paying out over $700 million.

In the Darwin Museum in the suburb of Fannie Bay there is a big display on Tracy where you can get some idea of the impact of this event, there are photographs of the damage like steel powerpoles twisted like cork screws and someone found his fridge a mile down the road embedded in a watertank several metres off the ground.

There is also a sound room where you can get to experience what a cyclone sounds like, a strong warning is posted on the door for people that have actually been through the cyclone to think twice about going in there.

I wonder why nature is called "mother"????

 

[captainfrenchfry]

well what really needs to happen is for people to step up down there. like more of the locals that have already been rescued and are still able to do something should get up and do it. because they need more manpower down there and the most we can do from up here is fund them to get it done faster.

 

[builder]

I agree. When cyclone Tracey trashed Darwin, and most of the town was evacced, the remaining crew hooked in and cleaned up.

Tradies from all over came to help reconstruct the city.

Same thing happened in Katherine in 1998, which is about a hundred and eighty miles from the coast. Cyclones (hurricanes) don't have favourites.