The cyclone that wiped out most of Darwin on Christmas Day 1974 was Cyclone Tracy.
Cyclone Tracy was a category 4 cyclone which began as a tropical storm in the Arafura Sea. The winds were so strong that they blew away the instruments at the airport, suggesting that the cyclone was actually category 5 when it hit. It wiped out about 70% of the town, which has since been rebuilt to be as cyclone-proof as it possibly can.
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Yes. Darwin was hit by Cyclone Tracy in the early hours of Christmas morning in 1974. The cyclone destroyed about three-quarters of the town.
Monday 1974 December 24-December25
Tropical Cyclone Tracy hit Australia on Christmas Day in 1974, devastating the city of Darwin in the Northern Territory. The cyclone caused widespread destruction, with approximately 70% of the city's buildings being destroyed and thousands of residents left homeless. It remains one of the most destructive cyclones in Australia's history.
The largest cyclone in the world was Typhoon Tip, which occurred in the western Pacific Ocean in October 1979. It had a diameter of over 2,200 kilometers (1,380 miles) and is considered the most intense tropical cyclone on record.
Some significant events that occurred in December 1974 include the end of the OPEC oil embargo, author John Lennon appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, and the kidnapping of newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst by the Symbionese Liberation Army.
The city in Australia most remembered for the devastating effects after a cyclone hit is Darwin, the capital of the Northern Territory. On Christmas Day 1974, Cyclone Tracy hit the city, demolishing two-thirds of the houses and businesses there. As a consequence, many changes were made regarding building codes in cyclone-prone areas, resulting in much higher quality buildings that can better withstand future cyclones.