Severe Tropical Cyclone Damien was the strongest cyclone to make landfall on the Western Australian coast since Cyclone Christine in 2013 and the second-strongest cyclone in the

2019–20 Australian region cyclone season The 2019–20 Australian region cyclone season was a below average tropical cyclone season for the waters surrounding Australia between longitudes 90°E and 160°E. The season officially began on 1 November 2019 and ended on 30 April 2020; howe ...

after Cyclone Ferdinand. The fifth tropical low, and the third named storm of the

, Damien originated from a monsoon trough over

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia Queensland * Kimberley, Queensland, a coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas South Australia * County of Kimberley, a cadastral unit in South Australia Ta ...

. As a monsoon trough began developing over parts of the

on 2 February 2020, the BOM noted that an inland tropical disturbance formed over the Northern Territory, within the monsoon trough. On 4 February, it exited land and emerged over the eastern Indian Ocean, and the JTWC named the disturbance Invest 92S. A Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert was issued early the following day by the JTWC as convection began to steadily develop near the center. The next day, the JTWC issued its first advisory on the system as a tropical storm. Many hours later, the BOM followed suit, upgrading the tropical storm to a Category 1 cyclone and giving it the name Damien. In preparation for Damien, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology issued a red alert from

Whim Creek Whim may refer to: * Whim, U.S. Virgin Islands, a settlement * Whim (mining), a capstan or drum with a vertical axle used in mining * Whim (carriage), a type of carriage * ''Whim'', a reissue of ''Adventures of Wim'', a book by George Cockroft as ...

to Mardie going all the way south to

Millstream Chichester National Park Millstream Chichester National Park is a national park in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, located north of the state capital, Perth. The park is made up of the old Millstream Station, which is on the Millstream Creek, just before it j ...

and a yellow alert from

Port Hedland A port is a maritime law, maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge Affreightment, cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inla ...

stretching southwards to Wittenoom. Evacuation centers were set up in Karratha, and South Hedland. A search and rescue team was also stationed in

. Damien brought gale-force winds, heavy-extreme/torrential

rain Rain is a form of precipitation where water drop (liquid), droplets that have condensation, condensed from Water vapor#In Earth's atmosphere, atmospheric water vapor fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is res ...

, and extreme

flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

s to

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

when it made

landfall Landfall is the event of a storm moving over land after being over water. More broadly, and in relation to human travel, it refers to 'the first land that is reached or seen at the end of a journey across the sea or through the air, or the fact ...

close to Karratha on 8 February. Wind gusts exceeding were recorded close to the landfall point. Over of rain fell in Karratha and Roebourne from 8–9 February 2020. Around 9,500 people in

Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, sparsely populated regions of Western Australia, region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Indigenous Australians, Aboriginal people; wealth disparity; its ancient landscapes; the prevailing r ...

lost power. Besides downed power lines, strong winds also uprooted many trees and caused many buildings to lose their roofs.

Karratha Airport Karratha Airport is an airport in Karratha, in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The airport is from Karratha and south of Dampier. History At the beginning of the iron ore industry in the early 1960s, Dampier was chosen as the po ...

was forced to close on the morning of 10 February 2020 after the terminal sustained damage and lost power.

Meteorological history

As a monsoon trough began to develop over parts of the

on 2 February 2020, the BOM noted that an inland tropical disturbance formed over the Northern Territory, within the monsoon trough. On 4 February, it exited land and emerged over the eastern Indian Ocean, and the JTWC named the disturbance as Invest 92S. A Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert was issued early the following day by the JTWC as convection began to steadily develop near the center. The next day, the JTWC issued its first advisory on the system as a tropical storm. Many hours later, the BOM followed suit, upgrading the tropical storm to a Category 1 cyclone and giving it the name Damien. Damien began tracking south, later intensifying to a powerful category 2 cyclone, later Damien tracks a little to the west, with it quickly changing its track a little to the east while going south, soon it made landfall in the

region of

, with winds peak winds of , Damien kept tracking west before again moving a little west and quickly dissipating.

Preparations

In preparation for Damien, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology issued a red alert from

to Mardie going all the way south to

, and a yellow alert from

stretching southwards to Wittenoom. Evacuation centers were set up in Karratha, and South Hedland. A search and rescue team was also stationed in

. Ports of Port Hedland, Dampier, and Ashburton were closed on Friday. Alongside 20 schools, high schools and learning centers in the region Residents in Pilbara rushed to get their hands on supplies after cities and towns were placed on blue alert, leaving supermarkets shelves empty of freshwater and food.

Impacts

Damien brought gale-force winds, heavy-extreme/torrential

, and extreme

s to

when it made

close to Karratha on 8 February. Wind gusts exceeding were recorded close to the landfall point. Over of rain fell in Karratha and Roebourne from 8–9 February. Around 9,500 people in

lost power. Besides downed power lines, strong winds also uprooted many trees and caused many buildings to lose their roofs. The local airport's roof was damaged by uprooted trees, resulting in water leakage into the building, the police station was also damaged by flooding. The Bureau of Meteorology's Dampier radar sustained significant damage due to Damien and was replaced with a Vaisala WRM200. Extensive vegetation damage was reported and there was some damage to property. Damages in Karratha totaled up to $6 million.

Cleanup

After Cyclone Damien, Karratha coordinated cleanup and relief efforts across cities and towns affected by the cyclone.

Retirement

Later in 2020, the Bureau of Meteorology retired the name ''Damien'' due to the damage caused by the storm in Western Australia. It will be replaced by ''Declan'' in future seasons.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Damien (2020) 2019–20 Australian region cyclone season Tropical cyclones in 2020 Category 3 Australian region cyclones 2020s in Western Australia 2020 in Australia Retired Australian region cyclones