Tropical Cyclone George

Final Posting | Summary
Posting Date: March 9, 2007, 12:30:00 PM

On Friday, March 9, at 3:00 a.m. (WDT), Cyclone George made landfall along the sparsely populated northwest coast of Australia, near Port Hedland. Assigned Category 3 status by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology at the time of landfall, George brought sustained winds reaching 125 mph. The storm ripped roofs off buildings, uprooted trees, downed power lines and dumped rainfall of 100 to 200 mm (approximately 4 to 8 inches) as it moved inland through Western Australia, causing widespread flooding. Oil, gas and mining operations have been interrupted. At least two people have been confirmed dead and up to 20 people were injured, according to emergency services. A mining camp in Wodinga, some 62 miles (100 kilometers) south of Port Hedland was one of the hardest-hit communities, as prefabricated buildings rolled over in gale force winds. According to authorities, Cyclone George has forced the temporary shutdown of at least 180,600 barrels per day of offshore oil production, which accounts for more than 40 percent of the country's output. George developed as a tropical storm over northern Australia on March 3. It made landfall near Kalumburu as a tropical storm the next day, but quickly exited and continued to move to the west. On March 7 George made a sharp left turn, intensified into a Category 1 cyclone, and continued to intensify until landfall early this morning. However, because Cyclone George struck a sparsely populated stretch of the Australia coast, AIR expects insured wind losses to onshore properties will be minimal. Meanwhile, Cyclone Jacob, currently a Category 2 storm, could cross the Pilbara coast on Sunday or Monday, affecting the same region that was battered by George.

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Posting Date: March 9, 2007, 12:30:00 PM