Australia’s Natural Hazards

Lesson Objectives

• Be able to rank some Australian natural disasters by a variety of criteria.

• Understand how the impacts of different types of hazards can vary.

• Work effectively in pairs.

Cyclone TraceyOn Christmas Eve 1974,

Cyclone Tracy struck the city of Darwin in the Northern Territory. An incredible

195 mm of rain fell in less than nine hours and winds of around

250 km/h flattened the city.

BrisbaneFloods

In January 1974, the weakening Cyclone Wanda

brought heavy rainfall to Brisbane and many parts of south-eastern Queensland

and northern NSW. The highest recordings were a staggering 1,318mm, and 819mm in the city

of Brisbane, flooding one third of the city’s

centre

Ash Wednesday

On 16 February 1983 around 180 bushfires raged in

both States, the largest of them starting in Victoria. Within a few days, over 520,000 ha

had burnt across both States and many buildings and farms

were lost

The 1967 Tasmanian fires

On 7 February 1967, duringa time of considerable drought, 264,270

hectares were burnt in southern Tasmania in

the space of five hours. Of the 110 fires raging on that fateful morning.

The fire destroyed many homes in its path.

1939 Heatwave

While the 1939 ‘Black Friday’bushfires in Victoria killed many

people, the accompanying heatwave - which triggered the blazes – killed

many more, especially the old and already

weak.

The Canberra bushfiresHorrendous firestorms fanned

by high winds hit the nation’s capital on Saturday 18 January 2003. The fires swept through Canberra’s suburbs

causing massive destruction. Large scale

evacuations took place and a massive relief effort

was put in place.

1991-95 DroughtNorth-eastern NSW and

much of Queensland had the result of the lowest rainfall levels on

record. A number of major water reservoirs went dry. There were massive agricultural

losses as average rural production fell by over 10 per cent. Rural

unemployment rose as people’s farms

went under.

Newcastle earthquake

was a magnitude 5.6 occurring on 28/12/89, at 10.27am.

Even though the earthquake itself was only5 to 6 seconds in length, it collapsed several

major buildings and many homes, schools and commercial

buildings.

1990 Nyngan FloodOver one million square kilometres

of Queensland and New South Wales (and a smaller area of Victoria) were under

water. The towns of Nyngan and Charleville were the worst affected

with main streets well underwater.

HIGHEST

LOWEST

THESE 3 ARE RANKED ABOUT MIDDLE

NOT QUITE THE HIGHEST

NOT QUITE THE LOWEST

Tasks

•Rank by death toll•Rank by number homeless

•Rank by cost

Disasters by DeathsDisaster Year Killed

Heatwave 1939 112

Ash Wednesday 1983 75

Cyclone Tracy 1974 71

Tasmanian Fire 1967 62

Brisbane Flood 1974 16

Newcastle Earthquake 1989 13

Nyngan Flood 1990 7

Canberra Fires 2003 4

Drought 1991-95 0

Disasters by HomelessDisaster Year Killed Homeless

Cyclone Tracy 1974 71 41,000

Ash Wednesday 1983 75 9,000

Brisbane Flood 1974 16 9,000

Tasmanian Fire 1967 62 7,000

Nyngan Flood 1990 7 5,000

Newcastle Earthquake 1989 13 1,000

Canberra Fires 2003 4 100

Heatwave 1939 112 0

Drought 1991-95 0 0

Disasters by CostDisaster Year Killed Homeless  Cost

Drought 1991-95 0 0 $2.9 billion

Newcastle Earthquake

1989 13 1,000 $1.12 billion

Cyclone Tracy 1974 71 41,000 $837 million

Canberra Fires 2003 4 100 $342 million

Brisbane Flood 1974 16 9,000 $328 million

Ash Wednesday 1983 75 9,000 $324 million

Tasmanian Fire 1967 62 7,000 $101 million

Nyngan Flood 1990 7 5,000 $38 million

Heatwave 1939 112 -- --

Impacts of Natural Disasters

Disaster Year Killed Homeless

Cyclone Tracy 1974 71 41,000 $837 million

Brisbane Flood 1974 16 9,000 $328 million

Ash Wednesday 1983 75 9,000 $324 million

Tasmanian Fire 1967 62 7,000 $101 million

Heatwave 1939 112 -- --

Canberra Fires 2003 4 100 $342 million

Newcastle Earthquake

1989 13 1,000 $1.12 billion

Drought 1991-95 0 0 $2.9 billion

Nyngan Flood 1990 7 5,000 $38 million