This is a list of all major natural disasters in Australian European history. The natural disasters included here are all the notable events which resulted in significant loss of life or property due to natural, non-biological processes of the Earth within Australian territory. Due to inflation, the monetary damage estimates are not comparable. Unless otherwise noted, the year given is the year in which the currency's valuation was calculated. References can be found in the associated articles noted.
Year | Disaster | Event | Death toll | Material destruction | Estimated cost | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1851 | Bushfire | Black Thursday bushfires | 12 | 50,000 square kilometres (12,000,000 acres; 5,000,000 ha) burnt One million sheep and thousands of cattle | ||
1852 | Flood | 1852 Gundagai flood | 89 | Destroyed the entire town | A severe flash flood destroyed the town of Gundagai. [1] [2] | |
1860 | Flood | Nowra Flood | 16 | The flood led to the rebuilding of Nowra as it was originally located in a low-lying area near the Shoalhaven River. The village of Terara was also abandoned and its residents moved to the relocated Nowra. | ||
1875 | Cyclone | Sinking of the SS Gothenburg | 98–112 | Sinking of the SS Gothenburg | In February 1875 Gothenburg was wrecked by a cyclone on the Great Barrier Reef off the north coast of Queensland. 22 people survived in three lifeboats. Records of passengers vary. [3] [4] [5] | |
1887 | Cyclone | Unnamed Cyclone (1887) | 140 | Around 20 boats lost. [6] [7] | A late season cyclone hit the Eighty Mile Beach area (then known as Ninety Mile Beach), devastating the pearling fleet there. [6] [7] | |
1893 | Flood | 1893 Brisbane flood | 35 | A$4 million (1893 figures) | Occasionally referred to as the Great Flood of 1893 or the Black February flood | |
1894 | Cyclone | 1894 January 4th unnamed tropical cyclone | 40+ | 12 luggers and the steamer Anne sunk, 15000 sheep killed | £15,000 | On 4 January 1894 and 9 January 1894 – Within the space of five days, two cyclones crossed the Pilbara coast. The first caused damage to many buildings at Roebourne and Cossack. The second cyclone caused more significant damage to the area completely washing away the previously damaged sea wall at Cossack. |
1894 January 9th unnamed tropical cyclone | ||||||
1895–1896 | Heat wave | 1895–1986 Australian heat wave | 437 | Widespread heat wave killed 437, including 47 in Bourke, New South Wales. [8] | ||
1896 | Cyclone | Cyclone Sigma | 23–26 | |||
1897 | Cyclone | 1897 Darwin cyclone | 28 | Destroyed the city of Darwin | £150,000 (1897 AUD) | The cyclone is considered the worst cyclone to strike the Northern Territory of Australia prior to Cyclone Tracy in 1974. [9] [10] Prior to contemporary naming conventions, the storm became known as the "Great Hurricane". [11] |
1898 | Bushfire | Red Tuesday bushfires | 12 | Two thousand buildings | ||
1899 | Cyclone | Cyclone Mahina | 300–410 | |||
1903 | Cyclone | Cyclone Leonta | 14 | £250,000 damage (1903 AUD) | 12 people killed in Townsville and 2 in Charters Towers and caused massive property damage across North Queensland | |
1907–1908 | Heat wave | 1907–1908 Australian heat wave | 246 | There were 105 deaths in South Australia alone (between 7 December 1907 and 8 February 1908). [12] | ||
1909 | Flood | 1909 Western Victorian floods | 4 | |||
1909–1910 | Heat wave | 1909–1910 Australian heat wave | 109 | 1909 Dec – 1910 Feb [13] | ||
1911 | Cyclone | Sinking of the SS Yongala [14] | 122 | SS Yongala [14] | En route from Melbourne to Cairns she steamed into a cyclone and sank south of Townsville. The wreak is one of the largest and well-preserved shipwrecks of Queensland's seas. | |
1911–1912 | Heat wave | 1911–1912 Australian heat wave | 143 | [15] | ||
1912 | Cyclone | Sinking of the SS Koombana and Balla Balla cyclone | 173+ | The SS Koombana was lost in a cyclone between Port Hedland and Broome with all 158 on board. The cyclone crossed the Western Australia coast around Balla Balla, early on 22nd. Several other ships and vessels were also wrecked in the cyclone, claiming another 15 lives. | ||
1913–1914 | Heat wave | 1913–1914 Australian heat wave | 122 | [16] | ||
1916 | Flood | Clermont flood of 1916 | 65 | On 28 December floods in Clermont, Queensland from a cyclone in the Whitsunday Passage which led to cyclonic rains. [17] [18] | ||
1918 | Cyclone | Mackay cyclone | 30 | Cyclone and storm surge that caused heavy damage in Mackay, Rockhampton and surrounding areas on 20 January 1918. [19] | ||
1918 | Cyclone | Innisfail cyclone | 37–97 | On 10 March 1918, a cyclone passed over Innisfail. Only 12 houses in the town of 3500 residents survived being blown flat or unroofed, and damage was also widespread in Cairns,100 km to the north, Babinda, and inland to the Atherton Tableland. [19] | ||
1920–1921 | Heat wave | 1920–1921 Australian heat wave | 147 | [20] | ||
1926 | Bushfire | 1925–26 Victorian bushfire season | 60 | 1,000 buildings were destroyed. [21] [22] | The worst fires occurred on 14 February (Black Sunday) in the Gippsland region and other areas, where 31 people died at Warburton, Victoria. [23] Houses and buildings were destroyed in many places including Erica and Belgrave. [24] The town of Noojee was destroyed, with only the hotel left standing. [25] [26] In all, over the two-month period, 60 people died and 1,000 buildings were destroyed. [21] [22] | |
1926–1927 | Heat wave | 1926–1927 Australian heat wave | 130 | 1926 Dec – 1927 Jan [27] | ||
1929 | Flood | 1929 Tasmanian floods | 22 | Eight drowned when truck ploughed into river and 14 died when dam collapsed and wall swept into town. [28] | ||
1932 | Bushfire | 1932 West Gippsland fires | 9 | 206,000 ha burnt | Six of the nine killed were mill workers who became trapped in the town Erica. | |
1934 | Flood | 1934 Victorian floods | 36 | 400 houses [29] | Torrential rainfall of up to 350 millimetres (14 in). Yarra River becomes raging torrent. Extensive damage with 35 dead, 250 injured, [30] [31] and 6,000 homeless. Of the dead, 18 died from drowning. [29] | |
1938 | Bushfire | Black Sunday | 5 | A rough surf pulled in swimmers at Bondi Beach, Sydney, leading to 245 people saved with 60 receiving treatment and 35 revived from unconsciousness. [32] | ||
1938–1939 | Heat wave | Black Friday bushfires | 438 | Heat wave killed 438 and sparked the Black Friday bushfires (see below). [33] | ||
Bushfire | 71 | 3,700 buildings | ||||
1939–1940 | Heat wave | 1939–1940 Australian heat wave | 112 | [34] | ||
1943–1944 | Bushfire | 1943–44 Victorian bushfire season | 51 | 500 buildings | Bushfires broke out in various parts of Victoria from late December 1943 to mid February 1944, resulting in 51 deaths, and destroying 500 buildings. [35] [36] | |
1947 | Hailstorm | Sydney hailstorm | 0 | 45,000,000 AUD (2007) | ||
1951 | Volcano | Mount Lamington eruption | 2,942 | Occurred in the former Territory of Papua and New Guinea. [37] Deadliest natural disaster in Australian history. | ||
1954 | Cyclone | The Gold Coast Cyclone | 26–30 | A tropical cyclone (known as The Gold Coast Cyclone) crossed the coast late evening on 20 February 1954 at Coolangatta. [38] [39] Extreme rainfall associated with the cyclone produced record totals, including 900mm at Springbrook, Queensland in the 24 hours crossing and 809mm at Dorrigo, New South Wales in 24 hours to 9 am on 21st. [39] There was widespread severe flooding over many areas of NSW. [40] | ||
1955 | Bushfire | Black Sunday bushfires | 2 | |||
1955 | Flood | 1955 Hunter Valley floods | 25 | Most deaths were around Singleton and Maitland, but most other river systems in the state were also in flood. [41] [42] | ||
1959 | Heat wave | 1959 Australian heat wave | 105–145 | 1959 Jan – Feb heat wave in southern regions of Australia. Some sources puts the death toll as high as 145. [43] [44] [45] [46] | ||
1961 | Bushfire | Western Australian bushfires | 0 | 160 homes | ||
1965 | Bushfire | Chatsbury bushfires | 3 | 59 homes | ||
1967 | Bushfire | Tasmanian fires | 62 | 1,293 homes | Now known as Black Tuesday, 7000 left homeless as over a hundred fires burned in southern Tasmania. [47] | |
1969 | Bushfire | 1969 bushfires | 23 [48] | 230 houses, 21 other buildings and more than 12,000 stock | Occurred on 8 January 1969. 17 casualties at Lara [49] [48] | |
1970 | Cyclone | Cyclone Ada | 14 | 12,000,000 AUD (1970) | ||
1971 | Flood | 1971 Canberra flood. | 7 | |||
1971 | Tornado | Kin Kin tornado | 3 | 100,000 AUD | A tornado swept through the town of Kin Kin. [50] | |
1974 | Bushfire | 1974-75 Australian bushfire season | 6 | Farmers' crops, 57,000 farm animals, and 10,200 kilometres (6,300 mi) of fencing | Fire burned up 117 million hectares (290 million acres), which is 15% of Australia's land. [51] | |
1974 | Flood | Brisbane flood | 16 | 980,000,000 AUD | ||
1974 | Cyclone | Cyclone Tracy | 71 | 645,350,000 USD (1974) | Cyclone Tracy destroys the city of Darwin on Christmas Day 1974. Top wind gust recorded was 217 kilometres per hour (135 mph). [52] On 17 March 2005, a Northern Territory Coroner's Inquest outcome increased the official death toll from 65 to 71. [53] | |
1978 | Cyclone | Cyclone Alby | 7 | 45,000,000 USD (1978) | ||
1983 | Bushfire | Ash Wednesday bushfires | 75 | 2,400 homes | ||
1989 | Cyclone | Cyclone Orson | 5 | 16,800,000 USD (1989) | ||
1989 | Earthquake | Newcastle earthquake | 13 | 4,000,000,000 AUD | ||
1990 | Flood | Cyclone Nancy | 6 | Tropical Cyclone Nancy crossed the coast near Byron Bay, then moving back out to sea. It brought extremely heavy rain which led to flash flooding, with 6 lives lost to drowning. [54] [55] | ||
Cyclone | ||||||
1993–1994 | Bushfire | Eastern seaboard fires | 4 | 225 homes | ||
1996 | Landslide | Gracetown landslide | 9 | About 30 tonnes of rock and sand fell from a cliff to the below spectators of a school surf event. [56] | ||
1997 | Landslide | Thredbo landslide | 18 | One victim was found alive after 60 hours of being buried. [57] | ||
1998 | Flood | Cyclone Les (1998) | 3 | |||
Cyclone | ||||||
1998 | Flood | 1998 Townsville and Thuringowa city floods | 1 | $100,000,000 AUD | ||
1998 | Bushfire | Linton Bushfire | 5 | |||
1998 | Thunderstorm | Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race | 6 | 30,000,000 AUD | A supercell storm caused chaos during the annual Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, with only 44 out of 115 yachts finishing. [58] | |
1999 | Cyclone | Cyclone Vance | 0 | 100,000,000 USD (1999) | ||
1999 | Hailstorm | Sydney hailstorm | 1 | 2,300,000,000 AUD | ||
2001–2002 | Bushfire | Black Christmas bushfires | 0 | 121 homes | ||
2002 | Cyclone | Cyclone Chris | 12 | 929,000 USD (2002) | ||
2003 | Thunderstorm | 2003 Melbourne thunderstorm | 0 | The Australian Bureau of Meteorology called the storm a "once in 100-year event". | ||
2003 | Bushfire | Canberra bushfires | 4 | Close to 500 homes | 350,000,000 AUD (2003) | |
2003 | Bushfire | Eastern Victorian alpine bushfires | 3 | 41 homes | ||
2005 | Bushfire | Eyre Peninsula bushfire, 2005 | 9 | 93 homes | ||
2006 | Bushfire | Junee Bushfire | 0 | |||
2006 | Cyclone | Cyclone Glenda | 0 | 965,000 USD (2006) | ||
2006 | Bushfire | Mount Lubra bushfire | 2 | |||
2006 | Cyclone | Cyclone Larry | 1 | 1,100,000,000 USD (2006) | ||
2006 | Bushfire | Pulletop bushfire | 0 | |||
2007 | Bushfire | Kangaroo Island bushfires | 1 | |||
2007 | Cyclone | Cyclone George | 5 | 15,700,000 USD (2007) | ||
2007 | Flood/Storm | 2007 New South Wales storms | 10 | |||
2008 | Thunderstorm | Queensland storms | 2 | 500,000,000 AUD | ||
2009 | Heat wave | 2009 southeastern Australia heat wave | 374 [59] | A nine-day heat wave in early 2009 in which Adelaide recorded six consecutive days over 40 °C (104 °F), a high of 45.7 °C (114.3 °F) and a record overnight minimum of 33.9 °C (93.0 °F) on 28 January. [60] [61] Sparked the Black Saturday bushfires (see below). Health authorities attribute 374 deaths to the heat wave. [62] | ||
2009 | Bushfire | Black Saturday bushfires | 173 | 2,029 homes, 2,000 other structures | ||
2009 | Cyclone | Cyclone Hamish | 2 | 38,800,000 USD (2009) | ||
2010 | Flood | March 2010 Queensland floods | 0 | 200,000,000+ AUD | ||
2010 | Flood | March 2010 Victoria storms | 0 | 2000+ houses | 500,000,000+ AUD | |
2010 | Flood | 2010 Western Australian storms | 0 | $1,080,000,000 AUD | It is the costliest natural disaster in Western Australian history | |
2010 | Flood | September 2010 Victoria floods | 0 | 250 | ||
2010 | Flood | 2010 Gascoyne River flood | 0 | two thousand head of cattle perished | 100,000,000 AUD ( preliminary) | The most severe flood to take place along the Gascoyne River in Western Australia on record. |
2010–2011 | Flood | 2010–11 Queensland floods | 33 | 2,390,000,000 AUD | ||
2011 | Cyclone | Cyclone Yasi | 1 | 3,600,000,000 USD (2011) | ||
2011 | Flood | 2011 Victoria floods | 2 | $2,000,000,000 AUD | ||
2011 | Flood | 2011 Wollongong floods | 0 | |||
2013 | Bushfire | Tasmanian bushfires | 1 | 170+ buildings | ||
2013 | Bushfire | New South Wales bushfires | 1 | |||
2013 | Cyclone | Cyclone Oswald | 7 | 2,520,000,000 USD (2013) | ||
2014 | Hailstorm | Brisbane hailstorm | 0 | 1,100,000,000 AUD | ||
2014 | Cyclone | Cyclone Ita | 0 | 1,150,000,000 USD (2014) | ||
2015 | Bushfire | Sampson Flat bushfires | 0 | |||
2015 | Bushfire | Esperance bushfires | 4 | |||
2015 | Bushfire | Pinery bushfire | 2 | |||
2017 | Bushfire | Carwoola bushfire | 0 | 56 buildings | ||
2017 | Cyclone | Cyclone Debbie | 14 | 2,730,000,000 USD (2017) | ||
2018 | Flood | 2018 Broome flood | 0 | The rainfall was caused by Cyclone Joyce, which struck Broome on 12 January 2018. Another tropical low struck the area two weeks later, which delivered further rains. Cyclone Kelvin then hit on 16 February. | ||
2018 | Bushfire | Tathra bushfire | 0 | 69 homes | ||
2019 | Flood | 2019 Townsville flood | 5 | 1500 homes rendered uninhabitable | 1,243,000,000 | |
2019–2020 | Bushfire | 2019–20 bushfire season | 34 direct [lower-alpha 1] [63] [64] | 9,352 buildings | 103,000,000,000 AUD | |
445 indirect (smoke inhalation) [68] | ||||||
2021 | Bushfire | Wooroloo bushfire | 0 | 86 buildings, [69] 10,900 hectares (27,000 acres) | ||
2021 | Flood | 2021 Eastern Australia floods | 3 | A$1,000,000,000 (estimate) | A widespread weather event with heavy rain over several days caused flooding in Western Sydney and the Far North Coast, extending into South East Queensland. At least 18,000 people were evacuated. [70] | |
2021 | Cyclone | Cyclone Seroja | 1 [lower-alpha 2] [71] | 70% of homes in Northampton and Kalbarri sustaining damage or destruction. [72] Areas along the cyclone track receiving less but still considerable damage, including Geraldton, Morawa, Mingenew, Mullewa, Perenjori down to Merredin. | $200m AUD estimate in Western Australia [73] [74] | Significant damage to the towns of Northampton and Kalbarri in Western Australia with 70% of homes sustaining damage or destruction. [72] |
2022 | Cyclone | Cyclone Seth | 2 [75] | |||
2022 | Flood | 2022 eastern Australia floods | 28 | $4,800,000,000 | ||
2022 | Flood | 2022 New South Wales floods | 1 | $379 million (2022 USD) | ||
2022 | Flood | 2022 south eastern Australia floods | 7 | |||
2022 - 2023 | Cyclone 2022 Kimberley floods | |||||
2023 | Cyclone | 2023 Cyclone Freddy | ||||
2023 | Cyclone | 2023 Cyclone Gabrielle | ||||
2023 | Cyclone | 2023 Invest 94S |
The Bureau of Meteorology is an executive agency of the Australian Government responsible for providing weather services to Australia and surrounding areas. It was established in 1906 under the Meteorology Act, and brought together the state meteorological services that existed before then. The states officially transferred their weather recording responsibilities to the Bureau of Meteorology on 1 January 1908.
Severe storms in Australia refers to the storms, including cyclones, which have caused severe damage in Australia.
Australia's climate is governed mostly by its size and by the hot, sinking air of the subtropical high pressure belt. This moves north-west and north-east with the seasons. The climate is variable, with frequent droughts lasting several seasons, thought to be caused in part by the El Niño-Southern Oscillation. Australia has a wide variety of climates due to its large geographical size. The largest part of Australia is desert or semi-arid. Only the south-east and south-west corners have a temperate climate and moderately fertile soil. The northern part of the country has a tropical climate, varying between grasslands and desert. Australia holds many heat-related records: the continent has the hottest extended region year-round, the areas with the hottest summer climate, and the highest sunshine duration.
Australia has had over 160,708 floods in the last 10 years, many of which have taken out homes, wildlife and many habitats.
Bushfires in Australia are a widespread and regular occurrence that have contributed significantly to shaping the nature of the continent over millions of years. Eastern Australia is one of the most fire-prone regions of the world, and its predominant eucalyptus forests have evolved to thrive on the phenomenon of bushfire. However, the fires can cause significant property damage and loss of both human and animal life. Bushfires have killed approximately 800 people in Australia since 1851, and billions of animals.
Extreme weather events in Melbourne, Australia have occurred on multiple occasions. The city has experienced a number of highly unusual weather events and extremes of weather. An increase in heat waves and record breaking temperatures in the 21st century has led to much discussion over the effects of climate change in the country.
A series of bushfires in Australia occurred over the summer of 1996–1997. The most prominent fires during the season were in the Dandenong Ranges and the Mornington Peninsula in the state of Victoria.
The 2020–21 Australian region cyclone season was a below average but very deadly season when most tropical cyclones formed in the Southern Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans between 90°E and 160°E. It produced 8 tropical cyclones with 3 strengthening into severe tropical cyclones. However, it featured the region's third-deadliest cyclone on record—Cyclone Seroja, which brought severe floods and landslides to southern Indonesia and East Timor. The season officially began on 1 November 2020 and started with the formation of Tropical Low 01U on 24 November within the basin, which would later become Tropical Storm Bongoyo in the South-West Indian Ocean, and ended with the dissipation of a tropical low on 24 April, 6 days before the season ended on 30 April. However, a tropical cyclone could form at any time between 1 July 2020 and 30 June 2021 and would count towards the season total. During the season, tropical cyclones were officially monitored by one of the three tropical cyclone warning centres (TCWCs) for the region which are operated by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, National Weather Service of Papua New Guinea and the Indonesian Agency for Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics. The United States Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) and other national meteorological services including Météo-France also monitored the basin during the season.
The National Emergency Medal is an award of the Australian honours system given for sustained service during a nationally significant emergency; or to other persons who rendered significant service in response to such emergencies. The medal was established by Queen Elizabeth II in October 2011. The medal is awarded for events specifically set out by regulation or may be awarded upon the recommendation of the National Emergency Medal Committee for significant service.
Emergency Management Queensland was the emergency division of the Department of Community Safety. The Queensland Fire and Rescue Service also belonged to the department. It aimed to plan and prepare for disasters as well as rescue and protect persons, property and the environment from disaster and emergency. Jack Dempsey, Minister for Police and Community Safety was responsible for the division.
Emergency Management in Australia is a shared responsibility between the Government appointed body Emergency Management Australia and local councils.
Anne Leadbeater was awarded an Order of Australia OAM for services to the community following the 2019 bushfires, and is a fellow of the EMPA.
The Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements, also referred to as the Bushfires Royal Commission, was a royal commission established in 2020 by the Australian government to inquire into and report upon natural disaster management coordination as it related to the 2019–20 Australian bushfire season. The Commission was charged with the responsibility of examining the coordination, preparedness for, response to and recovery from disasters, as well as improving resilience and adapting to changing climatic conditions and mitigating the impact of natural disasters.
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Approximately 15 per cent of Australia's physical land mass sustained extensive fire damage. This equates to roughly around 117 million ha.
Associate Professor Fay Johnston, from the Menzies Institute for Medical Research at the University of Tasmania, said her team estimated around 445 people died as a result of the smoke, over 3,000 people were admitted to hospital for respiratory problems and 1,700 people presented for asthma.
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