VIDA

History

Tropical Cyclone Vida is best remembered in Western Australia for the damaging winds it brought to the state's southwest in March 1975, after the system had weakened and moved south into higher latitudes.

On 20 March 1975, as the decaying remains of Vida passed near the populated southwest corner of the state, exceptionally strong winds were recorded along the coast. A gust of 128 km/h was measured at Fremantle, while neighbouring Perth recorded 109 km/h, with readings of up to 126 km/h noted in the wider Perth area. The system was notable for being largely dry: rainfall was minimal, with Cape Leeuwin recording only 17 mm.

The winds caused scattered but significant structural damage across the metropolitan area. St George's Cathedral and Perry Lakes Stadium were both damaged, a number of houses were stripped of their roofs, and walls collapsed in several buildings. The marine impacts were particularly notable around Rockingham, where a seven-metre yacht sank and a six-metre cabin cruiser was destroyed. Many other small craft were damaged at their moorings, and further vessels were affected offshore by the rough seas generated by the system.

Total losses from Vida were estimated at around A$1 million (approximately US$700,000 at the time). No fatalities were reported. Vida was one of a number of tropical cyclones to affect Western Australia during the active 1974–75 season, which also produced Severe Tropical Cyclone Tracy.

Sources: Bureau of Meteorology report Wikipedia