The night before Christmas in 1974, Darwin was hot and sticky. Families were getting ready for Christmas. Kids were very excited. Out at sea, a storm called Tracy was far away. At first, no one was worried. But then the news on the radio got more serious. Tracy had turned. Now the storm was coming right for Darwin.
By midnight, the parties were over. The wind was getting strong. It pulled leaves off the trees. It shook the windows of the houses. The houses in Darwin were built to let air in, not to stop big winds. The strong wind could break them very fast.
People stayed inside. Lots of them thought it would be just some wind and rain. They were wrong. At 3:00 AM on Christmas morning, the middle of the storm (the eye) went right over Darwin. The wind was so strong it broke the wind tool at the airport. The tool read 217 km/h before it broke.
“We woke up to a world that had simply ceased to be. The house wasn't just damaged; it was gone. The street was gone. The landmarks were gone.
In easy words: When we woke up, our whole street was gone. Our house was gone too. Everything we knew was missing.
The Big Loud Sound
People who were there still talk about how loud it was. It was not just the wind. It was the sound of the city breaking apart. Metal was bending. Glass was smashing. Wood was snapping. The power was off, so it was very dark. The dark made the sound feel even scarier.
When the sun came up on Christmas morning, Darwin looked very sad. The tall green trees had lost their leaves. Some were pulled out of the ground. Power lines were down all over the streets. The worst part was the people. Sixty-six people had died. Hundreds more were hurt.
Operation Navy Help
In the next few days, Darwin had the biggest plane lift in Australia. There was no power. There was no clean water. In the hot weather, people could get sick. So most people had to leave the city.
Over 30,000 people flew out of Darwin in just a few days. The city was not the same for many years. Lots of people never came back. The Christmas storm was too scary for them. But the people who stayed were strong. They helped each other. Darwin is still known for that kind of strong spirit today.
