Cyclone Mahina

Information about Cyclone Mahina

Cyclone Mahina
Category 5 cyclone (SSHS)
FormedUnknown
DissipatedMarch 10, 1899
Highest
winds		 (1-minute sustained)|-|->
Lowest pressureUnknown
DamageUnknown
Fatalities400-410
Areas
affected		Far North Queensland, Australia
Part of the
Pre-1980 Southern Hemisphere tropical cyclone seasons


Cyclone Mahina struck Bathurst Bay, Australia and the surrounding region on March 10, 1899, killing over 400 people. It was the deadliest natural disaster in Australian history.

Storm history

Mahina hit on March 4 1899. Mahina was a Category 5 cyclone, the most powerful of the tropical cyclone severity categories.

Impact

Within an hour, the pearling fleet (at anchor) was either driven onto the shore or onto the Great Barrier Reef. Only 4 sailors survived and over 307 were killed. Just before the eye of the cyclone passed overland to the north a tidal wave (caused by storm surge), variously reported as either 13 metres or 48 feet (14.6 meters) high, swept inland for about 5 kilometers, destroying anything that was left of the Bathurst Bay pearling fleet along with the settlement.

Eyewitness Constable J. M. Kenny reported that a 48 ft (14.6 m) storm surge swept over their camp at Barrow Point atop a 40 ft (12 m) high ridge and reached 3 miles (5 km) inland, the largest storm surge ever recorded.

Over 100 Indigenous Australians died, including some who were caught by the back surge and swept into the sea while trying to help shipwrecked men. Thousands of fish and some sharks and dolphins were found 15 m above sea level up to several kilometers inland and rocks were embedded in trees. On Flinders Island dolphins were found 15.2 meters up on the cliffs.

A memorial stone to 'The Pearlers' who were lost to the hurricane was erected on Cape Melville. The disaster is also commemorated in the Anglican church on Thursday Island.

See also

References

  • Whittingham, H. E., (1958), The Bathurst Bay Hurricane and associated storm surge. Australian Meteorological Magazine 23 14-36.

External links

The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale is a scale classifying most Western Hemisphere tropical cyclones that exceed the intensities of "tropical depressions" and "tropical storms", and thereby become hurricanes.
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March 10 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events


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18th century - 19th century - 20th century
1860s  1870s  1880s  - 1890s -  1900s  1910s  1920s
1896 1897 1898 - 1899 - 1900 1901 1902

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Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
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Far North Queensland, or FNQ, is the northernmost part of the Australian state of Queensland. The region, which contains a large section of the Tropical North Queensland area, stretches from the city of Cairns north to the Torres Strait.
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Anthem
Advance Australia Fair [1]


Capital Canberra

Largest city Sydney
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The Pre-1970 Southern Hemisphere tropical cyclone seasons ran year-round from July 1 to June 30, reaching their peaks mid-February to early March.

Pre-1970 storms

Unnamed tropical cyclone (1875)


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Bathurst Bay is the name of a 19th Century peninsula settlement that is now a tourist attraction on Cape York in northern Queensland, near the Great Barrier Reef. The British first settled Bathurst Bay sometime in the early-19th Century.
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Anthem
Advance Australia Fair [1]


Capital Canberra

Largest city Sydney
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March 10 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events


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18th century - 19th century - 20th century
1860s  1870s  1880s  - 1890s -  1900s  1910s  1920s
1896 1897 1898 - 1899 - 1900 1901 1902

:
Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
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The history of Australia began when people first migrated to the Australian continent from the north, at least 40,000-45,000 years ago. The written history of Australia began when Dutch explorers first sighted the country in the 17th century.
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March 4 was Inauguration Day for the President of the United States. Beginning in 1937, Inauguration Day has been January 20.

Events

  • 51 - Nero, later to become Roman Emperor, is given the title princeps iuventutis (head of the youth).

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18th century - 19th century - 20th century
1860s  1870s  1880s  - 1890s -  1900s  1910s  1920s
1896 1897 1898 - 1899 - 1900 1901 1902

:
Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
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The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale is a scale classifying most Western Hemisphere tropical cyclones that exceed the intensities of "tropical depressions" and "tropical storms", and thereby become hurricanes.
..... Click the link for more information.
sailor or mariner is a person who navigates water-born vessels or assists in their operation, maintenance, or service. The term can apply to professional mariners, military personnel, and recreational sailors as well as a plethora of other uses.
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The term tidal wave can refer to:
  • A tidal bore, a large movement of water formed by the funneling of the incoming tide into a river or narrow bay
  • A tsunami, wave generally caused by an earthquake or underwater rock slide, that can cause substantial destruction

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A storm surge is an offshore rise of water associated with a low pressure weather system, typically a tropical cyclone. Storm surge is caused primarily by high winds pushing on the ocean's surface. The wind causes the water to pile up higher than the ordinary sea level.
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Indigenous Australians are descendants of the first known human inhabitants of the Australian continent and its nearby islands. The term includes both the Torres Strait Islanders and the Aboriginal People, who together make up about 2.5% of Australia's population.
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Flinders Island is an island in the Bass Strait, located 20 km from the north-eastern tip of Tasmania, Australia. It is the largest island of the Furneaux Group.

It is part of the state of Tasmania, and part of the Flinders Council local government area.
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Nearest town/city: Cooktown
Coordinates:
Area: 1370 km²

Managing authorities: Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service
Official site: Cape Melville National Park
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Thursday Island
Queensland

View of the Township of Thursday Island

Population: 2,682

Postcode: 4875

Elevation: 8.
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This is a list of notable tropical cyclones, subdivided by basin and reason for notability.

North Atlantic basin

Main article: List of notable Atlantic hurricanes
Main article: List of retired Atlantic hurricanes

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This is a list of disasters in Australia sorted by death toll

100 or more deaths


Disaster Location Deaths Date Notes
Epidemic Australia-wide 12,000+ 1918–1919 1918 Spanish Influenza epidemic Approximate death toll. Sydney was the worst affected area.
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