1918 Mackay cyclone

Category 5 severe tropical cyclone (Aus scale)
Formed	Before 19 January 1918
Dissipated	23 January 1918
Highest winds	10-minute sustained: 205 km/h (125 mph) Gusts: 285 km/h (180 mph)
Lowest pressure	933 hPa (mbar); 27.55 inHg
Fatalities	30
Damage	Major
Areas affected	Queensland
Part of the 1917–18 Australian region cyclone season

The 1918 Mackay cyclone was one of the worst tropical cyclones to strike Australia in recorded history.^[1]

Meteorological history

Preparations and impacts

Prior warning

Impacts

• Pushed steamships ashore^[2]
• Sugar mills and wharfs damaged^[2]
• Buildings, churches and schools demolished^[2]
• 'Tidal wave'^[2]

THE FOLLOWING IS FROM ONE SOURCE:^[3]

• Railway company offered 100 tons of galvanised iron to Mackay in aftermath
• NSW government offered assistance in aftermath, with vessels and officers
• By 10:30 p.m. on Friday 25 January, 19 bodies had been recovered
• At least 100 buildings in the centre of Mackay were damaged
• 20.94 inches of rain to 9:00 a.m. on Saturday 19th January
• The weekend of 19-20 January was marked by strong coastal winds, reaching gale force at times
• By 10:00 p.m. on 20 January, the pressure had begun to fall heavily
• A special message from the BOM in Brisbane indicated that severe weather would occur
• Winds reached 70 mph at Flat Top Island (according to lightkeeper) by 11 p.m. on Sunday, after which communication with the island was cut
  • The wind then continued to increased in intensity
• Pressure of 29.371 inHg recorded at telegraph office in Mackay at 9 p.m. on Sunday
• "thick rain squalls" added to disturbance
• Fear that the peak in winds would coincide with high tide at 5-6 a.m. on Monday
• Post office barometer recorded 27.9 inHg at 4 a.m. on Monday, which is the lowest measurement it was deigned to make (and labelled with the word 'catastrophe')
  • Some residences had already been totally wrecked
  • Some people had already died due to falling structures
  • Buildings which were regarded as storm-proof were damaged or destroyed
• Until shortly after dawn on Monday, the wind direction had been southerly
  • The winds then changed to be easterly, then northerly soon afterwards - this increased the damage
• Mains gas and water were cut
• Sheets of galvanised iron hurled around the streets like paper
• The conditions made it almost impossible to go outside
• Police force and ambulance workers were aided by volunteers to go about their duties
  • People had to be rescued from floodwaters
• Low-lying areas were flooded
• 'Refugees' and people who were rescued were put up in several public buildings, including:
  • town hall
  • Red Cross Rooms
  • Technical College
  • PRF Societies rooms
  • Post office
  • School of Arts
  • Pioneer Shire Hall
  • Others
• Refugees were provided with socks and pyjamas from the Red Cross supplies to replace their soaked clothing, and shopkeepers loaned blankets
• State schools in the western side of Mackay had their roofs torn off, and were flooded
• Pressure had risen to 29.123 inHg by 1:30 p.m. on Monday, and the cyclone had weakened considerably
  • Winds began to die down by then (after 14.5 hours), however, strong gusts still occurred until 6 p.m. on Monday
  • A strong thunderstorm with heavy rain then occurred at 6 p.m over Mackay
  • Rain was still falling heavily on Tuesday, but otherwise, the weather was back to 'normal'
• People surveyed the damage to the town, and found it almost unrecognisable
  • Almost no building was undamaged
  • Many buildings were ruined
  • Galvanised iron, building materials, telephone wire, branches, trees and building contents littered the streets
  • The banyan trees in Sydney Street and Victoria Street had been either uprooted or left bare of leaves and branches
  • Everything was surrounded by water
• Low-lying areas in the southern and eastern parts of Mackay suffered extensive flooding and fatalities
  • Early on Monday morning, the high tide and peak winds combined to cause the river to overflow, inundating the neighbourhoods, including areas which were originally thought to be safe from flooding
  • Many families were trapped by the floodwaters and had to be rescued
  • Several people died (19?)
• Sydney Street bridge was washed away (requiring a lot of money to rebuild)
  • The Tay destroyed the bridge when it was pushed ashore on the north side of the river by the strong winds and tide
• The Pelican ran aground upstream of the bridge, near the Cremorne Hotel
• The Brinawarr, Osprey, and Relief all sunk
  • Other ships ran aground, while others sunk
• All buildings in the region between the Pioneer River and a creek in northern Mackay were wrecked, including the Cremorne Hotel; however, all people were accounted for
• From 8:00 p.m. Sunday to 9:00 p.m. Tuesday, 24.66 inches of rain was recorded at the post office
• Total for the month so far was 16.12 inches? THIS SEEMS TOO LOW, AND CONTRADICTS EARLIER TOTAL OF 20.94 INCHES ON SATURDAY
• More heavy rain and thunderstorms occurred on Tuesday afternoon, causing streets to become feet deep in water, with floodwaters stretching in every direction across the city
  • Unprecedented flooding in Mackay
  • The river flooding reached the deck of the Sydney Street bridge and the pavement of the post office at 9 a.m. on Tuesday
  • By Tuesday afternoon, further rain caused the town to become flooded to an average depth of 1 foot
• 17.25 inches of rain in 24 hours to 9 am on Wednesday
• More rain occurred throughout Wednesday and into the night
• Pressure was 29.628 inHg at 9 am on Thursday and 29.747 inHg at 10:30 am
• Sun shone at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday
• A few light showers added 0.6 inches to the total by 9 am on Friday, by which time the pressure was 29.761 inHg
• Total rain from start of disturbance on Sunday night to 9 am Friday was 56.2 in, giving 77.66 for the month so far
  • Roughly equivalent to entire 1917 rainfall
• Conditions were fine on Friday, although there were heavy clouds during the night
• Initial reports placed the death toll as high as 100
• An entire family (last name Welsh), with the exception of the husband, drowned in the town common
• A Mackay councillor of 35 years drowned (Mr Robert? Morton)
• Several died near the viaduct, including well-known John Carr, brother of painter William Carr
• At least two died near Fairleigh, including an African American and an employee of the Pioneer Shire Council
• A Malaysian man died near Baker Creek
• Two bodies washed up at East Point
• A man died at the show ground
• Enormous losses of cattle, horses and chickens (shortage of meat, and impossible to deliver goods by horse)
• Impossible to bury the dead in the flooded ground, resulting in the police morgue being full
• All churches suffered damage
  • The recently renovated Holy Trinity Church (Anglican) was reduced to a pile of rubble, and the roof of the rectory was severely damaged
  • Gregory Street's Methodist Church was reduced to rubble (had been damaged in Cyclone Eline in 1898)
  • Catholic church on the riverbank lost iron and tiles from roof, and the presbytery was partially damaged; however, the nearby school building was partially destroyed
  • Presbyterian church in Macalister Street lost sheets of iron
  • German evangelical church on corner of Alfred Street and Wellington Street was stripped of iron
• All theatres (Star Court, Olympia, Theatre Royal) were ruined
• Roof was torn off Star Theatre and St George's Society rooms in Wood Street
• Masonic Hall was reduced to rubble
• Balcony of School of Arts was slightly damaged
• Salvation Army Hall severely damaged
• High school's roof sustained damage
• Court House was flooded
• Clock tower lost roof
• Telegraph office's instruments destroyed after becoming soaked by water which came in once the doors had been blown in
• All telegraph poles were knocked down, and only three telephone lines remained in working order
• All hotels except for Mr Noble's Railway Hotel and Mr Sharpley's Federal Hotel sustained severe damage or were destroyed
• Shops were damaged, with significant stock losses from rainwater. Stock was washed into the street, from the Tattersall's Hotel in Sydney Street to the Post Office in River Street
• Almost all residences suffered damage, with many collapsing or being lifted from foundations. Roofs were torn off, and flooding was widespread.
• Senior Cadets were made to conduct salvage operations on Wednesday
• The following buildings were all suffered significant damage or were destroyed:
  • 'Gympie' Hotel, Engineer's shop, stables, Queen's Hotel, horseshoer's shop, Japanese quarters, blacksmith's shop, stationery shop, Palace Hotel, blacksmith's shop, Crown Hotel, Riverview Hotel, anvil store, buildings in Brisbane Street, corner store in River Street (mostly from 5 ft storm surge), news agency, Cosmopolitan Hotel, Star Theatre, Olympia Theatre, Olympia Theatre, cordial factory, Australian Hotel, grocer, Pioneer Hotel, Tattersall's Hotel, anvil stores, Prince of Wales Hotel, Barry's Hotel, Metropolitan Hotel, Commerical Hotel.
• Many buildings suffered extensive losses to furniture, stock or interiors from flooding
• District Hospital lost roof, so the patients were grouped into the isolation ward; Lister Private Hospital damaged (patients transferred to Nurse Hayes's Private Hospital); Maternity hospital in Alfred Street lost roof
  • Mayor held a meeting with residents, where it was decided that the girls state school would be used as a general hospital
• Law enforcement buildings:
  • Court house, police barracks and offices had roofs torn off
  • Stockade reduced to rubble
• All buildings at Flat Top Island except one cottage were destroyed, with instruments and navigation materials destroyed as well (no lives lost)
• 300-400 tons of Farleigh (maybe Fairleigh?) sugar lost when Adelaide Steamship Company store was flattened. Large amounts of maize, and hundreds of sacks of flour and salt were also destroyed in these stores, and in other companies' stores.
• The Alice May and a barge of the Adelaide Steamship Company sunk at the wharf, and other property of the company was damaged
• The "blacks camp" on the northern side of Mackay was destroyed, along with the nearby houses and the butter factory
• Customs buildings were destroyed (>1000 pounds cost)
• More than 250 people were injured during the cyclone
• Racecourse mill buildings and sugar sheds were deroofed, and a large amount of sugar was destroyed by rain at the Farleight Mill, where the stacks were destroyed and the roof stripped off
• Almost all Pleystowe houses were destroyed, leaving residents homeless
• Homebush Mill water tower was demolished and a sugar storage shed was exposed to flooding
• Most buildings destroyed at North Eton
• 4000 tons of sugar ruined at Cattle Creek Sugar Company mills and sheds
• Only five buildings remained intact at Walkerston, many kilometres from Mackay
  • Churches destroyed, hotels demolished or badly damaged, factories and houses destroyed
• In Sarina, many buildings suffered damage, including hotels, houses, shops
• In Farleigh and Pleystowe, most cottages were destroyed
• Buildings at Finch Hatton lost roofs
• Several spans and concrete piers on the Sandy Creek Bridge on the Sarina Line were destroyed
• Prime Minister Hugues sent a message to the Premier of Queensland on January 28
  • Assistance in every way possible
  • Immediately granted 5000 pounds for relief purposes, to be followed by more if required
  • Senator TW Crawford and probably Mr Bamford, MP, visited Mackay to assess damage and safeguard the interests of the sugar cane farmers (left Melbourne for Mackay on the night of 28 January)
  • The acting Premier of Qld, Mr Hunter, requested that all military tents, blankets and available equipment from the military in Brisbane be sent to Mackay to assist cyclone sufferers
  • Aramac was sent to Mackay with provisions
• Arawatta supposedly especienced the full force of the cyclone
  • Anchored off Bowen on Tuesday morning
  • Left at 1:00 pm
  • Anchored 8 miles off Flat Top Island
  • Wind was extremely strong, and generated enormous seas
  • Flat Top Island was sighted at midday on Wednesday, but nothing except the lighthouse could be seen
  • The captain could see Mackay covered by water
  • Two cows and two horses floated past the boat with the tide
• Cantara of the Adelaide Steamship Line anchored at Stone Island, where it was raining extremely heavily