- Author
- Marshall, R. D.
- Title
- Engineering Aspects of Cyclone Tracy, Darwin, Australia, 1974. Building Science Series (Final).
- Coporate
- National Bureau of Standards, Washington, DC
- Report
- NBS BSS 086, June 1976,
- Distribution
- Available from National Technical Information Service
- Keywords
- tropical cyclones; damage assessment; residential buildings; wind pressure; structural engineering; commercial buildings; school buildings; industrial buildings; disasters; Australia
- Identifiers
- Cyclone Tracy; Darwin (Australia)
- Abstract
- During the early morning hours of December 25, 1974, the city of Darwin was devastated by the most damaging cyclone ever to strike the Australian Continent. Winds of up to 75 m/s caused extensive damage to housing in particular, requiring the evacuation of approximately half of the 45,000 residents to other major cities in Australia. This report is a result of the author spending several days on temporary assignment with the Department of Housing and Construction-Australian Government to inspect the damage, and to participate in discussions regarding the establishment of new design criteria and construction practices for cyclone areas. The fact that most of the damage was caused by wind forces rather than a combination of wind and storm surge greatly simplified the assessment of damage and structural performance. The experience at Darwin points out the danger in depending too heavily upon past experience and intuition in the design of housing. It also makes clear the need for additional research into the behavior of certain building materials under repeated loads and missile impact, and the racking strength of walls subjected to uplift loads.