The cyclone that wandered for two weeks

摘要

The official cyclone season starts in November each year and finishes in April. One of the most extraordinary cyclones to occur was in February/March 1956 when a cyclone lashed almost the entire Western Australian coastline and parts of inland Northern Territory. This cyclone crossed the Western Australian coast just to the north of Broome and formed into a tropical depression as it went inland towards the Northern Territory. Some 65,000 square kilometres of the western Kimberly region received a deluge of heavy rain and subsequent flooding. The small outpost of Fitzroy Crossing received the worst flooding in over 40 years and communications to the town were completely cut. The Royal Flying Doctor Service and the Australian Inland Mission radio channels had to provide some limited communication for the area.