RONA

History

Severe Tropical Cyclone Rona developed from a tropical low that formed on 9 February 1999 approximately 225 kilometres northeast of Cairns, Queensland, within the monsoon trough. The system was named by the Bureau of Meteorology on 10 February after reaching Category 1 intensity on the Australian scale, and rapidly intensified to Category 3 before making landfall near Cow Bay at the mouth of the Daintree River at around 1300 UTC on 11 February. At landfall, the BOM estimated peak 10-minute sustained winds of 130 km/h.

Rona made landfall with little warning to residents, with many not aware of the approaching storm until roughly four hours before it struck. The cyclone produced a storm surge of 1.4 metres at the mouth of the Mossman River and extreme rainfall, with 1,870 millimetres recorded at Bellenden Ker — contributing to the worst flooding in northern Queensland in 30 years. Around 2,000 people were forced to evacuate their homes. Two houses near Daintree were destroyed and twelve others damaged, while strong winds and flooding caused widespread crop and infrastructure damage between Cape Kimberly and Cape Tribulation. Seven people lost their lives, and total damage reached approximately $150 million (1999 USD), with around $100 million attributed to crop losses. A disaster area was declared for Cairns and Innisfail on 12 February. Following the season, the name Rona was retired.

Sources: Bureau of Meteorology report Wikipedia