Tropical Cyclones In Queensland

The state of Queensland in northeastern Australia regularly experiences the effects of tropical cyclones, including powerful winds, torrential rainfall, storm surge flooding, and high waves. Australia's deadliest storm, Cyclone Mahina, made landfall along the Cape York Peninsula, killing at least 307 people. The state is also the location for the wettest tropical cyclone in Australia, which was Cyclone Jasper; the cyclone dropped over of precipitation, leading to significant flooding.

List

Pre-1900

*4 March 1899 – Cyclone Mahina struck Bathurst Bay along Cape York Peninsula. The cyclone wrecked four schooners, killing 307 people and becoming the deadliest on record in Australia. While moving ashore, the cyclone produced a storm surge of .

1900s

*24 December 1971 – Cyclone Althea
*24 January 1974 – Cyclone Wanda struck southeastern Queensland near Maryborough, and proceeded to drop torrential rainfall. Mount Glorious recorded a total of over five days. The rains led to floods that killed 16 people and inundated more than 6,700 homes. Damage reached $68 million (1974 AUD).
*3 March 1974 – Cyclone Zoe struck southeastern Queensland near Coolangatta. It dropped heavy rainfall, flooding roads and houses.
*19 January 1994 – Cyclone Rewa
*22 March 1997 – Cyclone Justin
*11 February 1999 – Cyclone Rona

2000s

*27 February 2000 – Cyclone Steve made landfall just north of Cairns, producing floods that killed one person. Floods and high winds caused $11 million in damage in Queensland, while over 40,000 people lost power.
*2 April 2000 – Cyclone Tessi moved ashore near Townsville, causing heavy rain and landslides that destroyed two houses. Damage totaled $15 million in Queensland.
*February 2001 – Cyclone Abigail moved across the Cape York peninsula, causing minor damage.
*5 February 2003 – Rains from the remnants of Cyclone Beni produced flooding across Queensland, killing one person due to drowning.
*10 March 2005 – Cyclone Ingrid crossed the Cape York peninsula in an unpopulated area as a small Category 4 cyclone. High winds knocked down trees in the area.
*30 March 2006 – Cyclone Larry made landfall near Innisfail, where wind gusts reached . Farther inland, the cyclone produced wind gusts of on Mount Bellenden Ker. Larry's winds, in conjunction with heavy rainfall, caused about $540 million in damage across Queensland, with 10,000 houses damaged.
*19 April 2006 – Cyclone Monica struck Queensland south of Lockhart River as a Category 3 cyclone, damaging houses and trees.
*6 February 2007 – Cyclone Nelson moved ashore from the Gulf of Carpentaria into a sparesely populated area of the Cape York peninsula, bringing heavy rainfall. Offshore, the cyclone forced a crew of 10 people to be evacuated from a barge.
*12 January 2009 – Cyclone Charlotte hit northwestern Queensland near the mouth of the Gilbert River, producing heavy rainfall.
*2 February 2009 – Cyclone Ellie moved ashore north of Cardwell, dropping torrential rainfall of more than over a three day period.
*4–11 March 2009 – Cyclone Hamish affected much of Queensaland's east coast with high waves, although the storm remained offshore. The waves capsized a boat near Swain Reefs, killing two people. High waves also swept cargo off a bulk carrier ship, leading to an oil spill along the coast.
*26 January 2010 – The low that was formerly Cyclone Olga moved ashore Queensland south of Cairns, and later emerged into the Gulf of Carpentaria, where it restrengtened. Olga made a second landfall on 30 January in the Gulf Country. Rainfall totals in the region reached .
*21 March 2010 – Cyclone Ului made landfall near Airlie Beach as a Category 3 cyclone. The cyclone damaged houses and trees, leaving 50,000 people without power.
*25 December 2010 – Cyclone Tasha moved ashore Queensland near Gordonvale as a Category 1 cyclone. It dropped heavy rainfall reaching , which caused flooding that killed one person and inundated 100 homes.
*30 January 2011 – Cyclone Anthony made landfall near Bowen, causing power outages that affected 11,415 homes.
*2 February 2011 – Cyclone Yasi made landfall near Mission Beach as a Category 5 cyclone, with estimated wind gusts of 285 km/h (175 mph); this made Yasi one of the strongest cyclones on record in the state. The cyclone killed one person in the state and severely damaged more than 1,000 homes. Insured damage costs reached $1.41 billion.
*21 January 2013 – Cyclone Oswald struck near Kowanyama along the western Cape York Peninsula. Although it weakened over land, the circulation moved southeastward through Queensland, producing heavy rainfall along its path that reached over . Oswald killed at least six people in the state. Thousands of people were forced to evacuated, while power outages affected 283,000 buildings.
*31 January 2014 – Cyclone Dylan produced beach erosion and high waves ahead of its landfall near Bowen.
*11 April 2014 – Cyclone Ita struck northern Queensland near Cape Flattery, which recorded wind gusts of . The cyclone damaged about 200 buildings and also produced widespread flooding.
*20 March 2014 – Cyclone Nathan struck a sparsely populated region of northern Queensland as a Category 3 cyclone. It dropped more than of rainfall.

*20 February 2015 – Cyclone Marcia made landfall in central Queensland in an unpopulated area near Shoalwater Bay as a small Category 5 cyclone. The high winds damaged trees and power lines, while accompanying heavy rainfall caused flooding. Total damage in Queensland reached A$750 million (US$587 million).
*28 March 2017 – Cyclone Debbie struck northeastern Queensland near Airlie Beach as a Category 3 cyclone, producing wind gusts of on the offshore Hamilton Island. This was the highest wind gust ever recorded in Queensland. Debbie produced heavy rainfall that led to more than $1 billion in agriculture damage.
*24 March 2018 – Cyclone Nora hit the west coast of the Cape York peninsula near Pormpuraaw as a Category 3 cyclone. Nora produced wind gusts of , along with heavy rainfall that produced landslides.
*12 December 2018 – Cyclone Owen made landfall in northern Queensland near Port Douglas, accompanied by flooding rains and winds strong enough to knock down trees. Owen moved across the Gulf of Carpentaria, struck the Northern Territories, and then reversed its track, hitting northwestern Queensland on 15 December. The remnant low dropped of rainfall in 24 hours at Halifax, causing additional damaging floods.
*30 December 2018 – The precursor low to Cyclone Penny moved across the Cape York Peninsula, and the storm intensified in the Gulf of Carpentaria. Penny struck northwestern Queensland near Weipa, and after moving through the Coral Sea, the low later hit southeastern Queensland near Bowen. Penny dropped heavy rainfall along its path.
*25 February 2019 – High waves from Cyclone Oma killed a surfer along North Stradbroke Island.
*19 March 2019 – Cyclone Trevor made landfall in far northern Queensland near Lockhard River as a Category 4 cyclone. The town recorded wind gusts to , which damaged houses and trees, while heavy rainfall caused floods.
*15 May 2019 – The low that was previously Cyclone Ann struck the Cape York Peninsula, dropping of rainfall.
*3 January 2021 – Cyclone Imogen struck northwestern Queensland from the Gulf of Carpentaria, producing heavy rainfall, high tides, and power outages.
*1 March 2021 – In its developmental stages, Cyclone Niran affected northeastern Queensland with gale-force winds and heavy rainfall, which damaged crops and flooded low-lying areas.
*29 December 2021 – The precursor low to Cyclone Seth moved across the Cape York Peninsula, with heavy rainfall closing roads. Later, Seth transitioned into a subtropical cyclone and struck southeastern Queensland near Hervey Bay, where it killed two people after causing additional flooding.
*10 January 2022 – Cyclone Tiffany crossed the Cape York Peninsula and later moved across the Gulf of Carpentaria. The storm dropped heavy rainfall in Queensland reaching .
*13 December 2023 – Cyclone Jasper made landfall near Wujal Wujal in Far North Queensland, producing gusts to in Port Douglas. The cyclone stalled and weakened over the Cape York Peninsula, dropping over of precipitation, making Jasper among the wettest tropical cyclones in Australia history. The rains produced widespread flooding and more than $1 billion in damage.
*25 January 2024 – Cyclone Kirrily hit near the City of Townsville as a weakening storm, and stalled over land for several days before drifting toward the Gulf of Carpentaria. Mornington Island recorded gale-force winds on 1 February, before Kirrily turned back to the south and southeast. The storm dropped heavy rainfall, causing flooding that destroyed one home and damaged 251 others.
*7 March 2025 – Cyclone Alfred moved ashore near Brisbane, killing one person. The cyclone left at least 287,000 people without power in the state.

Climatological statistics

Most tropical cyclones impacting Queensland do so in March.

Deadly cyclones

The following is a list of all known tropical cyclone-related deaths in Queensland.

See also

* List of Australia tropical cyclones
:*List of Western Australia tropical cyclones

References

{{Global tropical cyclones

List
Cyclones
Cyclones
Cyclones
Queensland
Cyclones in Queensland
Disasters in Queensland
Tropical cyclones