View source for Cyclone Tracy

{{Short description|Australian region cyclone in 1974}}
{{For|the Australian miniseries|Cyclone Tracy (miniseries)}}
{{More citations needed|date=March 2022}}
{{Use Australian English|date=October 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox weather event
| image = Cyclone Tracy 25 December 1974 ESSA-8.png
| caption = Cyclone Tracy on [[Christmas| Christmas Day]] 1974
| formed = {{start date|1974|12|21|df=y}}
| dissipated = {{end date|1974|12|26|df=y}}
}}{{Infobox weather event/Aus
| winds = 95
| pressure = 950
}}{{Infobox weather event/JTWC
| winds = 110
| pressure = 
}}{{Infobox weather event/Effects
| year = 1974
| fatalities = 66<!-- Do not add "total" here. It is redundant. If you have questions, please discuss on the talk page. -->
| damage = 645350000
| damage-suffix = <br/>(Second-costliest when adjusted for inflation)
| areas = [[Tiwi Islands]], [[Northern Territory]]
| refs = 
}}{{Infobox weather event/Footer
| season = [[1974–75 Australian region cyclone season]]
}}<!-- Checked monthly values with http://www.oanda.com/convert/classic. Used conversion from http://www.rba.gov.au/Statistics/HistoricalExchangeRates/index.html -->

'''Severe Tropical Cyclone Tracy''' was a small but destructive [[tropical cyclone]] that devastated the city of [[Darwin, Northern Territory|Darwin]], in the [[Northern Territory]] of [[Australia]], in December 1974. The small but developing easterly storm was originally expected to pass clear of the city, but it turned towards it early on 24 December. After 10:00&nbsp;p.m. [[Time in Australia|ACST]], damage became severe, with wind gusts reaching {{convert|217|km/h|kn mph|abbr=on}} before instruments failed. The [[anemometer]] in Darwin Airport control tower had its needle bent in half by the strength of the gusts.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=National Museum of Australia - Cyclone Tracy |url=https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/cyclone-tracy |access-date=2024-01-10 |website=www.nma.gov.au |language=en}}</ref>

Residents of Darwin were celebrating Christmas, and they did not immediately acknowledge the emergency, partly because they had been alerted to an earlier cyclone ([[1974–75 Australian region cyclone season#Severe Tropical Cyclone Selma|Selma]]) which passed west of the city, not affecting it in any way. Additionally, news outlets had only a skeleton crew on duty over the holiday.

The fatality count from Tracy was 66 people, while the damage it caused was [[Australian dollar|A$]]837&nbsp;million (about A${{Format price|{{Inflation|AU|837000000|1974}}}} in 2022; approximately US$5.2 billion in 2022). It destroyed more than 70 percent of Darwin's buildings, including 80 percent of houses.<ref name="Deathtoll">{{cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2005/s1326359.htm|title=NT coroner hands down finding on Cyclone Tracy deaths|work=[[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]]|date=18 March 2005|access-date=24 March 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050405142927/http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2005/s1326359.htm|archive-date=5 April 2005|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="bom-ext">{{cite web|url=http://www.bom.gov.au/cyclone/about/extremes.shtml|title=Tropical cyclone extremes|publisher=[[Bureau of Meteorology]]|access-date=19 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150721225339/http://www.bom.gov.au/cyclone/about/extremes.shtml|archive-date=21 July 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> It left more than 25,000 out of the 47,000 inhabitants of the city homeless prior to landfall and required the evacuation of over 30,000 people,<ref name=EMAtctracy>{{cite web|title=Event – Cyclone Tracy|url=http://www.disasters.ema.gov.au/Browse%20Details/DisasterEventDetails.aspx?DisasterEventID=2174|work=Attorney-General’s Department Disasters Database|publisher=Australian Emergency Management Institute|access-date=3 December 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426001905/http://www.disasters.ema.gov.au/Browse%20Details/DisasterEventDetails.aspx?DisasterEventID=2174|archive-date=26 April 2012}}</ref> of whom many never returned. After the storm passed, the city was rebuilt using more stringent standards "to cyclone code". At the time, Tracy held the record worldwide for the smallest tropical cyclone in terms of [[Beaufort scale|gale-force]] wind diameter, a record that was held for 34 years until it was broken by [[Tropical Storm Marco (2008)|Tropical Storm Marco]] in the Atlantic basin of [[2008 Atlantic hurricane season|2008]].<ref name="Marco TCR">{{cite web|author=James L. Franklin|title=Tropical Cyclone Report: Tropical Storm Marco|publisher=[[National Hurricane Center]]|date=4 November 2008|access-date=23 January 2009|url={{NHC TCR url|id=AL132008_Marco}}}}</ref>

==Meteorological history==
{{storm path|Tracy 1974 track.png}}
On 20 December 1974, the United States' [[ESSA-8]] [[environmental satellite]] recorded a large cloud mass centred over the [[Arafura Sea]] about {{convert|370|km|mi|round=5|abbr=on}} northeast of Darwin. This disturbance was tracked by the Darwin Weather Bureau's regional director Ray Wilkie, and by senior [[meteorologist]] Geoff Crane. On 21 December, the ESSA-8 satellite showed evidence of a newly formed circular centre near [[latitude]] [[8th parallel south|8° south]] and [[longitude]] [[135th meridian east|135° east]].<ref name="ntl-countdown">{{cite web |title=Meteorological Cyclones Information&nbsp;— Countdown to the impact of Cyclone Tracy |url=http://www.ntlib.nt.gov.au/tracy/basic/Met/countdown.html |url-status=dead |publisher=Northern Territory Library |access-date=11 July 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060712020744/http://www.ntlib.nt.gov.au/tracy/basic/Met/countdown.html |archive-date=12 July 2006}}</ref> Crane - the meteorological duty officer at the time - issued the initial tropical cyclone alert, describing the storm as a tropical low that could develop into a tropical cyclone.

Later in the evening, the Darwin meteorological office received an infrared satellite image from the [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]]'s satellite, [[NOAA-4]], showing that the low pressure had developed further and that spiralling clouds could be observed. The storm was officially pronounced a tropical cyclone at around 10{{nbsp}}p.m. on 21 December, when it was around {{convert|200|km|mi|round=5|abbr=on}} to the north-northeast of [[Cape Don Light|Cape Don]] ({{convert|360|km|mi|round=5|abbr=on}} northeast of Darwin).<ref name="ntl-warnings">{{cite web |title=Meteorological Cyclones Information&nbsp;— Warnings issued for Cyclone Tracy |url=http://www.ntlib.nt.gov.au/tracy/basic/Met/Tracy_warns.html |url-status=dead |publisher=Northern Territory Library |access-date=11 July 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010502154055/http://www.ntlib.nt.gov.au/tracy/basic/Met/Tracy_warns.html |archive-date=2 May 2001}}</ref> Cyclone Tracy was first observed on the Darwin radar on the morning of 22 December.<ref name=TracyReport1>{{cite web |title=Report on Cyclone Tracy December 1974 |url=http://www.bom.gov.au/cyclone/history/pdf/tracy.pdf |url-status=live |publisher=Bureau of Meteorology |access-date=29 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120228171018/http://www.bom.gov.au/cyclone/history/pdf/tracy.pdf |archive-date=28 February 2012}}</ref>

Over the next few days, the cyclone moved in a southwesterly direction, passing north of Darwin on 22 December. A broadcast on [[ABC Radio (Australia)|ABC Radio]] that day stated that Cyclone Tracy posed no immediate threat to Darwin. However, early in the morning of 24 December, Tracy rounded [[Cape Fourcroy]] on the western tip of [[Bathurst Island, Northern Territory|Bathurst Island]], and moved in a southeasterly direction, straight towards Darwin.<ref name=naaTCtracy>{{cite web|title=Fact Sheet 176 – Cyclone Tracy, Darwin|url=http://www.naa.gov.au/fSheets/FS176.html|publisher=National Archives of Australia|access-date=23 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050212230435/http://naa.gov.au/fsheets/FS176.html|archive-date=12 February 2005 }}</ref> The bureau's weather station at Cape Fourcroy measured a mean wind speed of {{convert|120|km/h|mph|round=5|abbr=on}} at 9:00 that morning.<ref name=bigblow1>{{cite web|last=Murphy|first=Kevin|title=Big Blow up North|url=http://www.bom.gov.au/cyclone/history/pdf/bigblowupnorth.pdf|publisher=University Planning Authority|access-date=23 November 2011|page=61|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120228171040/http://www.bom.gov.au/cyclone/history/pdf/bigblowupnorth.pdf|archive-date=28 February 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

By late afternoon on 24 December, the sky over the city was heavily [[overcast]], with low clouds, and was experiencing strong rain.<ref name=NTLcycloneTracy1>{{cite web|title=Northern Territory Library – Cyclone Tracy Exhibition|url=http://www.ntl.nt.gov.au/online_resources/cyclone_tracy|publisher=Northern Territory Government|access-date=30 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927003748/http://www.ntl.nt.gov.au/online_resources/cyclone_tracy|archive-date=27 September 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> Wind gusts increased in strength; between 10{{nbsp}}p.m. (local time) and midnight, the damage became serious, and residents began to realise that the cyclone would not pass by the city, but over it. On 25 December at around 3:30{{nbsp}}a.m., Tracy's centre crossed the coast near [[Fannie Bay, Northern Territory|Fannie Bay]].<ref name=TracyReport1 /> The highest recorded wind gust from the cyclone was {{convert|217|km/h|mph}}, which was recorded around 3:05{{nbsp}}a.m. at [[Darwin International Airport|Darwin Airport]].<ref name=TracyReport1 /> The anemometer (wind speed instrument) failed at around 3:10{{nbsp}}a.m., with the wind vane (wind direction) destroyed after the cyclone's eye passed over.<ref name=TracyReport1 /> The Bureau of Meteorology's official estimates suggested that Tracy's [[Wind#Measurement|gusts]] had reached {{convert|240|km/h|mph|round=5}}.<ref>{{cite web|title=Tropical Cyclone Tracy|url=http://www.bom.gov.au/weather/cyclone/nt/Tracey.shtml|publisher=Bureau of Meteorology|access-date=4 December 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090214000339/http://www.bom.gov.au/weather/cyclone/nt/Tracey.shtml|archive-date=14 February 2009}}</ref> The lowest air pressure reading during Tracy was {{convert|950|hPa|inHg|sigfig=4}}, which was taken at around 4{{nbsp}}a.m., by a Bureau staff member at Darwin Airport.<ref name=TracyReport1 /> This was recorded during the eye of the cyclone.<ref name=TracyReport1 /> From around 6:30{{nbsp}}a.m., the winds began to ease, with the rainfall ceasing at around 8:30&nbsp;a.m.<ref name=TracyReport1 /> After making landfall, Tracy rapidly weakened, dissipating on 26 December.<ref name=TracyReport1 /> Total rainfall in Darwin from Cyclone Tracy was at least {{convert|255|mm|in|abbr=on}}.<ref>[https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/cyclone-tracy Cyclone Tracy], National Museum Australia</ref>

[[File:Typhoonsizes.svg|thumb|right|250px|The relative sizes of the United States, Cyclone Tracy and [[Typhoon Tip]], the second smallest and largest tropical storms ever recorded, respectively]]

==Preparations==
[[File:Tracy radar 25 Dec 1974.jpg|thumb|Tracy before making landfall on Darwin]]
Darwin had been severely battered by cyclones before: in [[1897 cyclone|January 1897]] and again in March 1937.<ref name="ntl-history">{{cite web | url=http://www.ntlib.nt.gov.au/tracy/basic/History_Cyclones.html | title=Previous cyclones in Darwin&nbsp;— Cyclone Tracy | publisher=Northern Territory Library | access-date=11 July 2006 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060711221230/http://www.ntlib.nt.gov.au/tracy/basic/History_Cyclones.html | archive-date=11 July 2006 | url-status=dead}}</ref> However, in the 20 years leading up to Cyclone Tracy, the city had undergone a period of rapid expansion. E.P. Milliken estimated that on the eve of the cyclone there were 43,500 people living in 12,000 dwellings in the Darwin area. Though building standards at the time required that some attention be given to the possibility of cyclones, most buildings were not capable of withstanding the force of a cyclone's direct hit.

On the day of the cyclone, most residents of Darwin believed that the cyclone would not cause any damage to the city. [[Cyclone Selma]] had been predicted to hit Darwin earlier in the month, but it instead went north and dissipated without affecting Darwin in any way. As a result, Cyclone Tracy took most Darwin residents by surprise. Despite several warnings, the people of Darwin did not evacuate or prepare for the cyclone. Many residents continued to prepare for Christmas, and many attended Christmas parties despite the increasing winds and heavy rain. Journalist Bill Bunbury interviewed the residents of Darwin sometime later <!-- will find out when --> and recorded the experiences of the survivors of the cyclone in his book ''Cyclone Tracy: Picking Up the Pieces''.<ref name="Bunbury">{{cite book |last=Bunbury |first=Bill |year=1994 |title=Cyclone Tracy, picking up the pieces | location=Fremantle, Western Australia |publisher= Fremantle Arts Centre Press |isbn=1-86368-112-4}}</ref> Resident [[Dawn Lawrie]], a 1971 independent candidate for the electorate of [[Electoral division of Nightcliff|Nightcliff]], told him:

{{cquote|We'd had a cyclone warning only 10 days before Tracy [that another cyclone (Selma)] was coming, it was coming, and it never came. So when we started hearing about Tracy we were all a little blasé. (Bunbury, p. 20)<ref name="Bunbury"/>}}

Another resident, Barbara Langkrens, said:
{{cquote|And you started to almost think that it would never happen to Darwin even though we had cyclone warnings on the radio all the time ... most of the people who had lived here for quite some time didn't really believe the warnings. (Bunbury, p. 21)<ref name="Bunbury"/>}}

==Impact==
[[File:Cyclone tracy aerial view darwin.jpg|thumb|Devastation in Darwin]]
[[File:Houses-after-tracy.jpg|thumb|Houses after the destruction caused by Tracy]]
[[File:House-after-tracy.jpg|thumb|House in Nakara, Northern suburbs, after Tracy]]
[[File:Hmas-attack.jpg|thumb|{{HMAS|Arrow|P 88|6}} beached in Francis Bay March 1975]]
[[File:Power-pole-base.jpg|thumb|The base of a steel electricity pole bent by Tracy]]
[[File:Three Twisted House Girders.jpg|thumb|Memorial at Casuarina High School assembled from three house girders twisted by Cyclone Tracy]]Cyclone Tracy destroyed about 80% of the Darwin city.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cyclone Tracy {{!}} Northern Territory Library |url=https://ntl.nt.gov.au/story/cyclone-tracy |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190726023638/https://ntl.nt.gov.au/story/cyclone-tracy |archive-date=26 July 2019 |access-date=2019-07-26 |website=ntl.nt.gov.au}}</ref><ref name="Deathtoll" /> 94% of housing was uninhabitable. At Darwin Airport, thirty-one aircraft were destroyed and another twenty-five badly damaged.<ref name="bigblow2" /> 

=== Deaths ===
Cyclone Tracy killed 66 people on land and at sea. In the cyclone's aftermath, the number of deaths reported varied from 49 to 66,<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://www.bom.gov.au/cyclone/history/pdf/tracy.pdf |title=Report on Cyclone Tracy December 1974 |date=1977 |publisher=Department of Science, Bureau of Meteorology}}</ref> as an official list of deaths was never compiled. Nearly thirty years later, the last two missing ships were located in Darwin Harbour, [[Booya (ship)|MV ''Booya'']] in October 2003 and the ferry ''Darwin Princess'' in May 2004.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Government |first=Northern Territory |date=2020-09-24 |title=Maritime heritage |url=https://nt.gov.au/leisure/arts-culture-heritage/visit-a-cultural-or-heritage-site/maritime-heritage |access-date=2024-02-21 |website=nt.gov.au |language=en}}</ref> Police divers investigated both wrecks and found no human remains but did retrieve some personal effects.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2003-11-01 |title=Cyclone Tracy wreck found |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2003-11-01/cyclone-tracy-wreck-found/1502772 |access-date=2024-02-21 |work=ABC News |language=en-AU}}</ref> In March 2005, the Northern Territory Coroner held an inquest into the people suspected to have died on board, declaring them deaths at sea.<ref name="EMAtctracy" /> Following the inquest, the death total was raised to 71, and this was widely published. However recent research by the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory has determined that this figure includes five deaths that were double counted, reducing the overall total to 66. Of these, 45 died on land and 21 died at sea.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2023 |title=Cyclone Tracy Deaths |url=https://www.magnt.net.au/cyclone-tracy-deaths |website=Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory}}</ref>

=== Reporting ===
Several factors delayed the dissemination of the news of the cyclone's impact to the country. The intensity and track of the cyclone had destroyed virtually all telecommunication and radio equipment in the city, including the transmission equipment at both [[Royal Australian Navy]] bases [[HMAS Melville|HMAS ''Melville'']] and [[HMAS Coonawarra|HMAS ''Coonawarra'']].<ref>{{cite web |title=A brief history of HMAS Melville |publisher=Tom Lewis |hdl=10070/714958 |publication-place=Darwin |url=https://hdl.handle.net/10070/714958 |access-date=25 May 2023}}</ref> The first communication link reestablished in the aftermath was via HF Radio sourced from a [[Connellan Airways]] [[de Havilland Heron]] that had been hastily stored in an empty hangar at [[Darwin Airport]] the night before, being anchored to towing equipment and weighed down with {{cvt|350|kg}} of beer cartons.<ref name="Aviation in the Aftermath of Cyclone Tracy">{{cite web |last1=Cuskelly |first1=Ron |title=The Cyclone Tracy Heron |url=http://www.adastron.com/cyclone-tracy/tracy-heron.htm |website=Aviation in the Aftermath of Cyclone Tracy |access-date=25 May 2023}}</ref><ref name="goodall.com.au">{{cite web |last1=Goodall |first1=Geoff |title=DE HAVILLAND DH.114 HERON IN AUSTRALIA |url=https://www.goodall.com.au/australian-aviation/dh114/dh114heron.html |website=Geoff Goodall's Aviation History Site |access-date=25 May 2023}}</ref> From this aircraft, pilot David Fredrickson contacted the Katherine Flight Service Center by mid-morning to convey news of the disaster. He then spent much of the day relaying messages on behalf of emergency services, Navy personnel and airport staff until additional communication links were established later in the day.<ref name="goodall.com.au" />

The destruction of transportation infrastructure and the distance between Darwin and the rest of the Australian population played a role in the delayed information dissemination, as did the fact the storm made landfall on [[Christmas Day]] and most media outlets only had a skeleton crew rostered on at best. Most Australians were not aware of the cyclone until late in the afternoon. Dick Muddimer, a reporter for the local [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC]] radio station, [[105.7 ABC Darwin|8DR]], credited as being the man who informed the rest of the nation about the cyclone, after finding out that the ABC's studios on Cavenagh Street were completely knocked off transmission, was able to travel through the wreckage and the storm to the studios of the local television station [[NTD (Australian TV station)|NTD]]-8 to send a message to the ABC station in [[Mount Isa]], Queensland, to notify ABC headquarters in [[Sydney]] that Darwin had been hit by a cyclone.<ref name=ABCHistory>[https://web.archive.org/web/20161022013911/http://www.abc.net.au/darwin/about History of 105.7 ABC Darwin] from ABC Online</ref>

=== Governance ===
In order to provide the initial emergency response, a committee was created. The committee, composed of several high-level public servants and police, stated that, "Darwin had, for the time being, ceased to exist as a city". [[Gough Whitlam]], the Australian prime minister, was on an official trip to Europe at the time and flew to Darwin immediately upon hearing of the disaster.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cyclone Tracy – excerpt from ABC documentary The Darwin Story |url=https://www.naa.gov.au/students-and-teachers/learning-resources/learning-resource-themes/environment-and-nature/weather-and-climate/cyclone-tracy-excerpt-abc-documentary-darwin-story#:~:text=Many%20never%20returned.,assess%20the%20scale%20of%20devastation |website=[[National Archives of Australia]]}}</ref> Additionally, the Australian government began a mass evacuation by road and air; all of the [[Australian Defence Force|Defence Force]] personnel throughout Australia, along with the entire [[Royal Australian Air Force]]'s fleet of transport planes, were recalled from holiday leave and deployed to evacuate civilians from Darwin as well as to bring essential relief supplies to the area. Thirteen RAN ships were used to transport supplies to the area as part of [[Operation Navy Help Darwin]], which is the largest humanitarian or disaster relief operation ever performed by the [[Royal Australian Navy]].<ref name="Semaphore 14">{{cite web |url=http://www.navy.gov.au/media-room/publications/semaphore-december-2004 |title=Disaster Relief&nbsp;— Cyclone Tracy and Tasman Bridge |publisher=Sea Power Centre |work=Semaphore |access-date=6 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140531125906/http://www.navy.gov.au/media-room/publications/semaphore-december-2004 |archive-date=31 May 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Health and essential services crisis===
As soon as the worst of the storm had passed, Darwin faced several immediate health crises. On Christmas Day, the Darwin Hospital treated well over five hundred patients, with 112 of these being admitted into the hospital, and both of the facility's operating theatres being utilised.{{cn|date=September 2024}} The first casualties did not arrive till 7{{nbsp}}a.m. because of high winds and severe road conditions in and around the Darwin area. Operating continued throughout the night and into the early morning. Local teams worked without relief until the arrival of a surgical team from Canberra late that day. Those who were considered unable to return to work within two weeks were evacuated by air to safer locations.{{cn|date=September 2024}}

All official communications out of Darwin were no longer operational. The antennas at the OTC Coastal Radio Service station (callsign VID) were destroyed during the storm. Station manager Bob Hooper, who was an [[amateur radio operator]], helped to establish communications using his own equipment. By 10{{nbsp}}a.m., Gary Gibson, another amateur operator, was able to establish a station at the Darwin Community College, and within a short period of time, a network of stations was established across the country. This network, coordinated by Melbourne D24 police, provided message services to the cities of [[Perth, Western Australia|Perth]], Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, [[Townsville]], [[Brisbane]], [[Adelaide]], [[Alice Springs]], [[Nhulunbuy|Gove]], Mt Isa, Cairns, Rockhampton, Mackay, Lismore, and Cooma.<ref>Electronics Australia magazine March 1975</ref> By 10:40{{nbsp}}a.m., VID operators had established VID2 on board MV ''Nyanda'' in Darwin Harbour, and then for five days official communications traffic in and out of Darwin was handled via [[continuous wave]] radio ([[Morse code]]). The only local radio station that was not completely disabled was the ABC's [[8DR]]. For the next two days, it was Darwin's only link to the outside world and was on the air for all but 34 hours in the coming weeks.<ref name=ABCHistory/>

Those who remained in Darwin faced the threat of several diseases due to much of the city being without water, electricity, or basic sanitation.{{cn|date=September 2024}} An initial response was to vaccinate residents for [[typhoid]] and [[cholera]]. Approximately 30,000 people were homeless and were forced to seek shelter in several makeshift housing and emergency centres that lacked proper hygienic conditions.{{cn|date=September 2024}} Volunteers came in from across the country to assist with the emergency relief efforts. Trench [[latrine]]s were dug, water supplies delivered by tankers, and mass immunisation programs begun. The army was given the task of searching houses for bodies of people and animals, as well as locating other health risks; for example, cleaning out rotting contents from fridges and freezers across the city.{{cn|date=September 2024}} This was completed within a week. Houses which had been "searched and cleared" had S&C painted on an external wall. The city itself was sprayed with [[malathion]] to control mosquitoes and other similar pests.{{cn|date=September 2024}}

Attempts to reconnect the essential services to the city began on Christmas Day. Local officers from the Commonwealth Department of Housing and Construction began clearing debris and working to restore power. They sealed off damaged water hydrants and activated pumps to reactivate the city's water and sewerage systems.{{cn|date=September 2024}}

===Evacuation and the public response===
Major-General [[Alan Stretton]], director-general of the Natural Disasters Organization,<ref name=naaTCtracy /> and the commonwealth minister for the Northern Territory, [[Rex Patterson]], arrived at Darwin Airport late on Christmas Day and took charge of the relief efforts. After an assessment of the situation and meetings with the Department of the Northern Territory and the relevant minister, it was concluded that Darwin's population needed to be reduced to a "safe level" of 10,500 people.{{cn|date=September 2024}} This decision was made on the advice of Dr. Charles Gurd, the director of health in the Northern Territory. Around 10,000 people left Darwin and the surrounding area within the first two days, but the rate of departures then began to slow down. The government then gave support to his position, offering full reimbursement of personal costs, as long as the evacuation took place.{{cn|date=September 2024}}

The population was evacuated by air and ground; because of communications difficulties with Darwin airport, landing was limited to one plane every ninety minutes. At major airports, teams of federal and territory department officials as well as [[Salvation Army]] and [[Red Cross]] workers met refugees, with the Red Cross taking responsibility for keeping track of the names and temporary addresses of the refugees. Evacuations were prioritised according to need; women, children, the elderly, and the sick were evacuated first. There were reports of men dressing up as women to escape with the early evacuations. Between 26 and 31 December, a total of 35,362 people were evacuated from Darwin.<ref name=EMAtctracy /><ref name=bigblow2>{{cite web|last=Murphy|first=Kevin|title=Big Blow up North|url=http://www.bom.gov.au/cyclone/history/pdf/bigblowupnorth.pdf|publisher=University Planning Authority|access-date=4 December 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120228171040/http://www.bom.gov.au/cyclone/history/pdf/bigblowupnorth.pdf|archive-date=28 February 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> Of those, 25,628 were evacuated by air, the remainder by road.<ref name=EMAtctracy /><ref name=bigblow2 />

Most evacuation flights were conducted onboard commercial aircraft sent by [[Ansett Australia|Ansett]], [[Trans Australia Airlines|TAA]], [[MacRobertson Miller Airlines|MMA]] and [[Qantas]], with a majority of these flights being filled to upwards of 150% their normal passenger capacity.<ref name="adastron.com">{{cite web |last1=Cuskelly |first1=Ron |title=Chronology of Darwin Relief Flights |url=http://www.adastron.com/cyclone-tracy/tracy-chronology.htm |website=Aviation in the Aftermath of Cyclone Tracy |access-date=26 May 2023}}</ref> One particular evacuation flight, a [[Qantas]] [[Boeing 747|Boeing 747-238B]] (VH-EBB) departed Darwin on 28 December with a record breaking 673 evacuees on board.<ref name="adastron.com"/> By 31 December, only 10,638 people (mostly men who were required to help clean up the city) remained in Darwin.{{cn|date=September 2024}} Stretton also regulated access to the city by means of a permit system. Permits were issued only to those who were involved in either the relief or reconstruction efforts, and were used to prevent the early return of those who had been evacuated.{{cn|date=September 2024}}

Upon receiving news of the damage, several community groups across Australia began fundraising and relief efforts to assist the survivors. Major reception centres were set up in cities such as [[Katherine, Northern Territory|Katherine]], [[Tennant Creek]] and Alice Springs. Several of the small towns along the Stuart Highway made efforts to assist people who were fleeing by road, supplying them with food, fuel, rest, and mechanical aid. At [[Adelaide River]], the small local population provided hot meals to the refugees who stopped there. Approximately 24 hours after the storm hit Darwin, the population of Alice Springs had raised over $105,000 (~A$665,000 in 2022 terms<ref>{{Cite web |last=contact=Media Office |first=Information Department |date=2015-10-30 |title=Inflation Calculator |url=https://www.rba.gov.au/calculator/annualDecimal.html |access-date=2024-01-26 |website=Reserve Bank of Australia |language=en-AU}}</ref>) to assist the victims of Tracy.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=[[Australian Geographic]] |title=Cyclone Tracy hits Darwin |date=17 December 2014 |url=http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/blogs/on-this-day/2014/12/on-this-day-in-history-cyclone-tracy |access-date=5 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150317182152/http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/blogs/on-this-day/2014/12/on-this-day-in-history-cyclone-tracy |archive-date=17 March 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> In Melbourne at the [[Boxing Day Test]] [[cricket]] match between [[Australia national cricket team|Australia]] and [[England cricket team|England]], members of both teams moved around the boundaries carrying buckets which the crowd threw cash into for the relief funds. Darwin families were also given priority on public housing waiting lists. On 31 December 1974, Stretton recommended that full civilian control should resume in Darwin, and handed over control of the city to its elected officials.{{cn|date=September 2024}}

==Aftermath==
===Reconstruction and effects on Darwin===

{{Costliest Australian region tropical cyclones}}{{more citations needed section|date=December 2016}}
In February 1975, Australian prime minister Gough Whitlam announced the creation of the Darwin Reconstruction Commission, which was given the task of rebuilding the city "within five years", focusing primarily on building houses.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/110636986|first=Bruce|last=Juddery|author-link=Bruce Juddery|title=Reconstruction Commission: Doubt and disillusion grows in Darwin|page=2|newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]]|date=9 May 1975|access-date=29 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161002162631/http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/110636986|archive-date=2 October 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> The commission was headed by Tony Powell.<ref>{{cite web|last=Jones|first=Alan|title=The bushfire recovery|work=Macquarie Media Network|publisher=2GB|date=17 February 2009|url=http://2gb.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5636&Itemid=134|access-date=5 May 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090712142846/http://2gb.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5636&Itemid=134|archive-date=12 July 2009|url-status=live}}</ref> The damage to the city was so severe that some advocated moving the entire city. However, the government insisted that it be rebuilt in the same location. By May 1975, Darwin's population had recovered somewhat, with 30,000 residing in the city. Temporary housing, caravans, hotels, and an [[ocean liner]] ([[MV Bloemfontein Castle|MV ''Patris'']]), were used to house people, because reconstruction of permanent housing had not yet begun by September that year. [[Ella Stack]] became mayor of Darwin in May 1975 and was heavily involved in its reconstruction.

However, by the following April, and after receiving criticism for the slow speed of reconstruction, the commission had built 3,000 new homes in the nearly destroyed northern suburbs, and completed repairs to those that had survived the storm. Several new [[building codes]] were drawn up, trying to achieve the competing goals of the speedy recovery of the area and ensuring that there would be no repeat of the damage that Darwin took in 1974. By 1978, much of the city had recovered and was able to house almost the same number of people as it had before the cyclone hit. However, by the 1980s, as many as sixty percent of Darwin's 1974 population had left, never to return. In the years that followed, Darwin was almost entirely rebuilt and now shows almost no resemblance to the pre-Tracy Darwin of December 1974.

Although [[Northern Territory Legislative Assembly|a legislative assembly]] had been set up earlier in the year, the Northern Territory had only minimal self-government, with a federal minister being responsible for the territory from Canberra. However, the cyclone and subsequent responses highlighted several problems with the way the regional government was set up. This led [[Malcolm Fraser]], Whitlam's successor as prime minister, to give self-government to the Territory in 1978.

Many of the government records associated with Cyclone Tracy became publicly available on 1 January 2005 under the [[30-year rule]].

On 25 December 2024{{snd}}the 50th anniversary{{snd}} a memorial was unveiled at East Point Reserve, where the cyclone made landfall. The memorial includes individual plaques with the names of the deceased.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-25/cyclone-tracy-survivors-commemorate-50-years-since-disaster/104761330|title=Cyclone Tracy memorial pays tribute to survivors' 'unbreakable spirit'|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|date=2024-12-25|access-date=2024-12-25}}</ref>

{{anchor|Cyclone Tracy in popular culture}}

===In popular culture===
Cyclone Tracy inspired the song "[[Santa Never Made It into Darwin]]", composed by Bill Cate and performed by [[Bill and Boyd]] in 1975 to raise money for the relief and reconstruction efforts.<ref>{{cite news|title=Santa never made it, but song to help Darwin|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=MLUQAAAAIBAJ&pg=5568,5099|access-date=7 July 2011|newspaper=The Age|date=1 January 1975|page=3|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181024212624/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=MLUQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=NpIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5568,5099|archive-date=24 October 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://members.westnet.com.au/anugraha/music/files/santa.txt |title=''Santa Never Made it into Darwin'' |author=Bill Cate |access-date=24 March 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706113436/http://members.westnet.com.au/anugraha/music/files/santa.txt |archive-date=6 July 2011 }}</ref> In 1983, [[Hoodoo Gurus]] released "[[Tojo (song)|Tojo]]", a song comparing the [[Imperial Japan|Japanese]] [[bombing of Darwin]] under the command of [[Hideki Tojo]] during [[World War II]] to the damage done by Cyclone Tracy. The [[Proposed Japanese invasion of Australia during World War II|much-feared Japanese invasion]] was stopped by the US and Australian militaries, but the cyclone was virtually ignored and ended up destroying the city.<ref>{{cite web|date=June 2000 |last=Faulkner |first=Dave |url=http://www-personal.umich.edu/~juliat/hg/popandpunishment.html |publisher=juliat |title=Pop and punishment |access-date=29 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070808085453/http://www-personal.umich.edu/~juliat/hg/popandpunishment.html |archive-date=8 August 2007 |url-status=dead  }}</ref> In May 1976, Australian band [[Ayers Rock (band)|Ayers Rock]] released the single "Song for Darwin", also as a fundraiser for the relief and reconstruction efforts.

In 1986, the [[Nine Network]] and [[Publishing and Broadcasting Limited|PBL]] created ''[[Cyclone Tracy (mini-series)|Cyclone Tracy]]'', a period drama [[mini-series]] based on the events during the cyclone. Michael Fisher, Ted Roberts and Leon Saunders wrote the series, and it also starred [[Chris Haywood]] and [[Tracy Mann]], who played the lead characters of Steve and Connie.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0316973/|title=Cyclone Tracy (TV mini-series 1986)|publisher=[[Internet Movie Database]]|access-date=9 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103053105/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0316973/|archive-date=3 November 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> The mini-series was released on DVD by Umbrella Entertainment in December 2005. The DVD is compatible with all region codes and includes special features such as newsreel footage of the devastation and a documentary titled ''On A Wind and a Prayer''.<ref name="Umbrella Entertainment">{{cite web|title=Umbrella Entertainment|url=http://www.umbrellaent.com.au/p-1813-cyclone-tracy.aspx|access-date=19 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111127234819/http://www.umbrellaent.com.au/p-1813-cyclone-tracy.aspx|archive-date=27 November 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Records and meteorological statistics==
Tracy is the most compact cyclone or equivalent-strength cyclone on record in the Australian basin and Southern Hemisphere, with gale-force winds extending only {{convert|48|km|mi}} from the centre, and was also the smallest tropical cyclone worldwide until 2008, when [[Tropical Storm Marco (2008)|Tropical Storm Marco]] of the [[2008 Atlantic hurricane season]] broke the record, with gale-force winds extending only {{convert|18.5|km|mi}} from the centre.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/E5.html |title=FAQ : HURRICANES, TYPHOONS, AND TROPICAL CYCLONES |publisher=[[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] |work=Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory |date=29 May 2009 |access-date=29 May 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081222095921/http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/E5.html |archive-date=22 December 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.srh.weather.gov/srh/jetstream/tropics/tc_structure.htm | title=Tropical Cyclone Structure | publisher=[[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] | work=JetStream | date=19 October 2005 | access-date=24 March 2006 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130603061050/http://www.srh.weather.gov/srh/jetstream/tropics/tc_structure.htm | archive-date=3 June 2013 | url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Marco TCR" /> After forming over the Arafura Sea, the storm moved southwards and affected the city with Category&nbsp;4 winds on the [[Tropical cyclone scales|Australian cyclone intensity scale]], while there is evidence to suggest that it had reached Category&nbsp;3 on the [[Saffir–Simpson scale|Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale]] when it made [[landfall (meteorology)|landfall]].<ref name="IBTrACS">{{Cite FTP |url=ftp://eclipse.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/ibtracs/v01cor-r01/ibtracs_tape/SouthernHemisphere.ibtracs.v01cor-r01.tape |server=ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/ibtracs/index.php |url-status=dead |title=International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (HURDAT format) |access-date=29 December 2008 }}</ref> Bruce Stannard of ''[[The Age]]'' stated that Cyclone Tracy was a "disaster of the first magnitude ... without parallel in [[History of Australia|Australia's history]]."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=gd9UAAAAIBAJ&dq=disaster%20of%20the%20first%20magnitude%20without%20parallel%20cyclone%20tracy&pg=6901%2C4902676|title=Mr. Whitlam on the spot|last=Stannard|first=Bruce|date=28 December 1974|publisher=The Age|access-date=30 December 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181024212624/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=gd9UAAAAIBAJ&sjid=MZIDAAAAIBAJ&dq=disaster%20of%20the%20first%20magnitude%20without%20parallel%20cyclone%20tracy&pg=6901%2C4902676|archive-date=24 October 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Pressure estimates ==
David Longshore, in the book ''Encyclopedia of Hurricanes, Typhoons, and Cyclones'' 1992 and 2008 edition, states that Tracy's barometric pressure was as low as 914 mbar, but the actual lowest pressure was 950 mbar. This information was recorded by a Bureau of Meteorology staff member at the Darwin airport.<ref name="TracyReport1" />

==See also==
{{Portal|Tropical cyclones|Australia}}
* [[Blown Away (2014 film)|''Blown Away'' (2014 film)]], documentary film about Cyclone Tracy

==References==
{{Notelist}}
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book | last = Bunbury | first = Bill | year = 1994 | title = Cyclone Tracy: Picking up the Pieces | publisher = Fremantle Arts Centre Press | location = Fremantle | isbn = 1-86368-112-4}}
* {{cite book | last = Mckay | first = Gary | year = 2004 | title = Tracy: The storm that wiped out Darwin on Christmas Day 1974 | publisher = Allen & Unwin | location = Crows Nest, Sydney | isbn = 1-86508-558-8}}
* {{cite book | last = Milliken | first = E. P. |date=April 1984 | title = People Who Experienced Darwin Cyclone Tracy: Human Responses in Report on Proceedings of a Research Workshop on Human Behaviour in Australia | publisher = National Disasters Organisation, [[Australian Department of Defence]]}}
* {{cite book | last = Stretton | first = Alan | year = 1976 | title = The Furious Days: The Relief of Darwin | publisher = Willams Collins | location = Sydney | isbn = 0-00-211448-8}}
* {{cite news | title = Mr. Whitlam on the spot. | publisher = The Age | pages = 9, 3&nbsp;– 5 | date = 28 December 1974}}
* {{cite book |editor1=Olds, Margaret (Managing) |editor2=Chan, Gabrielle (Associate) | year = 1999 | title = Australia Through Time (7th ed.) | page = 441 | publisher = Random House Publications | location = Sydney | isbn = 0-09-183815-0|display-editors=etal}}
* {{cite news | author = Sea Power Centre&nbsp;— Australia, [[Royal Australian Navy]] | title = ''SEMAPHORE'' Issue 14 (occasional series) | work = Newsletter of the Sea Power Centre&nbsp;— Australia that deals with the Navy's response to Cyclone Tracy |date=December 2004}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{Spoken Wikipedia|Cyclone_Tracy.ogg|date=2005-12-31}}
*[http://www.enjoy-darwin.com/cyclone-tracy.html#VisitorPages Memories and comments of Cyclone Tracy]
*[https://ntl.nt.gov.au/story/cyclone-tracy Cyclone Tracy, Northern Territory Library online feature] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190726023638/https://ntl.nt.gov.au/story/cyclone-tracy |date=26 July 2019 }}
*[http://www.ntl.nt.gov.au/online_resources/cyclone_tracy Northern Territory Library online exhibition Cyclone Tracy]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20040826033153/http://www.ntlib.nt.gov.au/tracy/advanced/cyc_tracy.html Northern Territory Library on Cyclone Tracy]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20041010010831/http://www.ntlib.nt.gov.au/tracy/advanced/oral/Index.html Collected oral histories of Cyclone Tracy]
*[http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-vn3112050 Houses destroyed by Cyclone Tracy, Darwin, December 1974 (picture) / Alan Dwyer.]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20041010011535/http://www.ntlib.nt.gov.au/tracy/basic/Met/index.html Meteorological Information]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120320071947/http://www.library.bom.gov.au/dbtw-wpd/exec/dbtwpcgi.exe?AC=GET_RECORD&XC=%2Fdbtw-wpd%2Fexec%2Fdbtwpcgi.exe&BU=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.library.bom.gov.au%2Fqmetext.htm&TN=METEORIC&SN=AUTO5646&SE=1846&RN=7&MR=20&TR=0&TX=1000&ES=0&CS=1&XP=&RF=extbriefdisplay&DF=extfulldisplay&RL=0&DL=0&NP=2&ID=&MF=&MQ=&TI=0&DT= Weather satellite image of Tropical Cyclone Tracy] 25 December 1974 (9:55{{nbsp}}am Darwin time, 0025 Greenwich Mean Time), over Darwin, Northern Territory, from NOAA 4.
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120320072014/http://www.library.bom.gov.au/dbtw-wpd/exec/dbtwpcgi.exe?AC=SEE_ALSO&QF0=SU&QI0=%3D%22Cyclone+Tracy%2C+1974%22&XC=%2Fdbtw-wpd%2Fexec%2Fdbtwpcgi.exe&BU=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.library.bom.gov.au%2Fqmetext.htm&TN=METEORIC&SN=AUTO6373&SE=164&RN=0&MR=50&TR=0&TX=1000&ES=0&CS=1&XP=&RF=Summary&DF=DisplayOPAC&RL=0&DL=0&NP=2&ID=&MF=&MQ=&TI=0&DT= Records about Cyclone Tracy from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060617131530/http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/c20thc/cyclone4.shtml Additional Information on Cyclone Tracy]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060502155724/http://www.abc.net.au/tv/rewind/txt/s1233697.htm Australia Broadcasting Corp. Rewind on Cyclone Tracy]
*[http://www.builderbill-diy-help.com/cyclone-construction.html House construction details before C-Tracy.] Darwin builder's website.
*The [[National Film and Sound Archive]] of Australia added [http://nfsa.gov.au/collection/sound/sounds-australia/ ABC coverage of the aftermath of the cyclone], broadcast on ABC radio and radio outlets around the world, featuring Mike Hayes, a senior ABC journalist in Darwin, to their [[Sounds of Australia]] registry in 2011.
*Listen to Mike Hayes' first-person account of the aftermath of the cyclone on [http://aso.gov.au/titles/radio/cyclone-tracy-1974/clip1/ ''australianscreen online'']
*See the [[National Film and Sound Archive]] of Australia's film [https://www.youtube.com/user/FILMAUSTRALIA#p/search/0/FS1E5oAv8UM ''Cyclone Tracy – Darwin, Christmas 1974''] from its [[Film Australia]] Collection.

{{Retired Australian cyclones}}
{{Category 4 Australian region tropical cyclones}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tracy (1974)}}
[[Category:Cyclone Tracy| ]]
[[Category:1974–75 Australian region cyclone season]]
[[Category:1974 in Australia]]
[[Category:Tropical cyclones in 1974]]
[[Category:Tropical cyclones in the Northern Territory]]
[[Category:History of Darwin, Northern Territory]]
[[Category:Retired Australian region cyclones]]
[[Category:Category 4 Australian region cyclones]]
[[Category:Disasters in the Northern Territory]]
[[Category:1974 disasters in Australia]]