Hamish

History

Severe Tropical Cyclone Hamish formed on 4 March 2009 as a tropical low over the Coral Sea, near the Cape York Peninsula. It developed rapidly, reaching Category 1 intensity on 5 March before strengthening to Category 3 on 6 March as an eye became established. By late on 7 March, Hamish had intensified to Category 5 on the Australian scale — the first cyclone to do so since Cyclone George in 2007 — with peak 10-minute sustained winds of 215 km/h and a central pressure of 924 hPa. The system tracked parallel to the Queensland coast without making landfall, passing closest to land on 8 March. It gradually weakened through an eyewall replacement cycle and increasing wind shear, becoming a remnant low on 11 March and dissipating on 14 March.

Although Hamish never crossed the coast, it caused significant impacts along a roughly 500 km stretch of Queensland. Heavy rainfall, storm surge, and large seas produced flooding in Mackay and Yeppoon, extensive beach erosion along the Sunshine Coast and Fraser Island, and damage to coastal infrastructure. Around 2,000 residents lost power, and large-scale evacuations were conducted across several island resorts including Fraser Island. A trawler sank in rough seas generated by the storm, and two crew members were presumed drowned after a search was abandoned. Total damage along the Queensland coastline reached approximately A$60 million. The cyclone also inflicted severe damage to the Great Barrier Reef as its eye tracked over a substantial portion of the reef system.

Sources: Bureau of Meteorology report Wikipedia