Cyclone Damage Darwin 2008

Cyclone damage in Darwin caused by Cyclone Helen was limited, especially compared to the havoc wrought by Tracey in 1974.

Helen crossed the coast about 20 ks south of Darwin and was about a level 2 category storm with a small radius of only 40 kilometres or so. Still a lot of large trees came down causing widespread blackouts when they fell over powerlines.

Some local areas were without power for 12 hours, a few for a couple of days, while a lot of Darwin hardly noticed there had been a storm.

Powerline damage Alawa

A few suburban roads were blocked, however there are plenty of routes through suburbia, so this hardly caused any real problems.

Blocked road Alawa

A small number of buildings were damaged, and there were a lot of close calls as large African Mahogonies lost out because of their shallow root systems.

A Close call
Nightcliff Community Centre

Meanwhile a long term project to put all of Darwins powerlines underground continues, hopefully preventing power outages next time a few trees are knocked over.