Wikipedia:Today's featured article/October 18, 2004

The aftermath of Cyclone Tracy

Cyclone Tracy was a tropical cyclone that devastated Darwin, Australia, on 24 December–25 December 1974. It was recorded by The Age as being a "disaster of the first magnitude... and without parallel in Australia's history". It killed 65 people and destroyed over 70 per cent of Darwin's buildings, leaving over 20,000 people homeless. Most of Darwin's population was evacuated to Adelaide, Whyalla, Alice Springs and Sydney and many never returned to Darwin. The town was subsequently rebuilt with newer materials and techniques. Cyclone Tracy, due to its severity, has entered into Australian popular culture in a way that no other meteorological event had before, or has since. (more...)

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