Cyclone Larry (2006)
On Monday 20th March 2006, 7am, Cyclone Larry, hit the tropical north of
Queensland. It was classified as a ‘midget’ cyclone due to no death rate,
however 20 sever injuries were obtained. This natural disaster began far in
the Eastern Coral Sea near the Fiji and travelled west, entering the shores
between Cairns and Townsville, making a direct hit to Innisfail. Within 48
hours it had rapidly increased becoming a hurricane-force, when entering the
coast, damaging infrastructure and sugarcane and banana growing farmland
in areas surrounding and including Innisfail. After a destructive, 20 hours,
Cyclone Larry slowly died near Burketown.
What Caused Cyclone Larry to
Occur?
Just days before the cyclone hit, a low
pressure system had developed this
strengthened within two days due to the
This diagram shows how the
increasing pressure and
increase in wind speed of up to 240
wind speed caused the
kilometres per hour. There was a range of
cyclone to become more
destructive, severe wind storms off the east
powerful and intensify.
coast of warm temperatures, rising Larry while the Coral Sea
had a warm temperature feeding the cyclone and increasing the humidity in
the storms.
This satellite image shows
the location of where
Cyclone Larry began.
Location in Australia
Innisfail area: latitude
17˚52’S, longitude
146˚03’E
Distance to Innisfail from:
Eliza McCristal
Cairns = 88.50km
Townsville = 258.90km
Ingham = 147.60km
Georgetown = 348km
Year 9
 Climate Graph in Innisfail (2006)
500
35
450
30
400
25
Temperature(˚C)
Rainfall (mm)
350
300
20
250
15
200
150
Rainfall (mm)
Temperature (max)
10
100
5
50
0
0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Months in 2006
In the graph, it was found that in the warmer months, when the
temperature was high, rainfall had risen in late February and mid-March,
when cyclone occurred. The temperature was highest also just days
before cyclone hit the coast, in the end of February and start of March.
Rainfall and temperature dropped dramatically after disaster in the
months of April and May.
Landforms in Queensland
In the boarders of Queensland you would find that there are no large, natural
lakes but several rivers. Just off the lengthening coasts the formation evolves
into large mountain ranges that flows water into the rivers, travelling into
the ocean. The Great Dividing Range is where most people inhabit and
where all agricultural work is done such as sugarcane farms due to dense and
moist vegetation. After the large mountain ranges, travelling further to the
centre of Australia, the vegetation becomes dryer and mountains become
hills, until it reaches the Simpson Desert.
Eliza McCristal
Year 9
Social, Economic and Environmental Changes That Took Place after
Cyclone Larry and the Government Response to Prevent It Now
Economic
Government immediately funded over $280 million. $236 million of funds
went to local community and emergency services immediately after
devastation while $40 million was given to Queensland government to repair
roads, towns and to support those who had lost homes. There was a large
amount of damage towards infrastructure and crops that was estimated to
cost $500 million around Innisfail. This caused prices on bananas to rise in
supermarkets around Australia due to our main source, for this fruit, was
demolished, meaning bananas were rarer and had to export from other
countries.
Environmental
Cyclone Larry was attracted to dense areas so many towns surrounding Great
Dividing Range were ripped out, causing streams to flood over the top and
travel down towards Brisbane while the rainfall increased. These floods were
to help the Queensland rainforests recovery by helping many plant species,
which had adapted to cyclones, to re-sprout. However, there was a large
spread of invasive weeds entered Queensland’s rainforests. Managers
needed to identify the weed and target its weakness, so that they know what
types of habitats are at risk and how to approach the invasion for future
cyclones. They started to establish monitoring sites to determine any
invasive species and how it will stun the recovery of the rainforests.
Social
Power was wiped from towns, effecting their emergency communication, so
towns became remote. Due to this, citizens of Innisfail were sent to Innisfail
airport while power was still cut; this caused a lack of water for two days
because there was no power in water systems. Flooding passing through
road and railway around Cairns blocked management needing to access to
remote towns for several days. Rising waters also created a danger of
venomous snakes and crocodiles to those stranded and isolated in their
houses. Many citizens applied for relief payments as they were left homeless
for months due to tarps still covering their homes and being forced into
Eliza McCristal
Year 9
portable homes instead. Cyclone Larry cut through banana and sugarcane
farms forcing many farmers to turn to dairy as a source of income. It took
farmers over a year to restock their farms with their own equipment that
they had found from other areas and purchasing new machines.
Bibliography
Type of
Source
Article
Style
Article
Unknown. (2007). Cyclone Larry bill reaches $277 million. Sydney Morning Herald
Internet Site
Unknown. (2011). Historical Disasters: Cyclone Larry. Available:
http://www.em.gov.au/library/Onlineresources/Historicaldisasters/Pages/HistoricalDisastersCyc
loneLarry.aspx
Unknown. (Unknown). Severe Tropical Cyclone Larry. Available:
http://www.bom.gov.au/cyclone/history/larry.shtml
James Crutchfield. (Unknown). Cyclone Larry hits Queensland. Available:
http://www.pecad.fas.usda.gov/highlights/2006/03/australia_23mar2006/
Adrian Hitchman. (2006). Primary Assessment of Tropical Cyclone Larry. Available:
http://www.ga.gov.au/ausgeonews/ausgeonews200609/larry.jsp
Unknown. (2008). Innisfail Location. Available: http://www.auinfo.com/Innisfail.html
Unknown. (2013). Climate Statistics. Available:
http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_031011.shtml
Walter Bibikow. (Unknown). Geography of Queensland. Available:
http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/oceania/australia/queensland/qsland.htm
Unknown. (Unknown). Food and Agriculture. Available:
http://www.csiro.au/en/Outcomes/Food-and-Agriculture/Weeds-and-rainforests-CycloneLarry.aspx
Mike Head. (2006). Cyclone Larry leaves thousands homeless. World Socialist Website
Internet Site
Internet Site
Internet Site
Internet Site
Internet Site
Internet Site
Internet Site
Article
Eliza McCristal
Unknown. (2007). Farmers feeling the effects of Larry. Sydney Morning Herald
Year 9