Page:Hunt - The climate and weather of Australia - 1913.djvu/124

Rh In these months there is a very hot region situated between Nullagine and Winning Pool, Western Australia. This area of high temperature means also an area of low pressure, and this is no doubt a factor in swinging the hurricane to the south-east. The cold Westralian current may act as a buffer to the passage of these cyclones along the coast beyond Onslow; the general easterly drift of the upper air also undoubtedly helps to swing them inland from Cossack. Moreover, their destructive violence rarely penetrates far beyond the coast, for this can only be maintained by large supplies of ascending moist air. This can only take place over the ocean, so that though an individual cyclone can be traced to Coolgardie, to Eucla, and even to Tasmania, it rarely inflicts much damage inland, but, as noted in the preceding table, rather brings beneficial heavy rains.

XI..—.

In the warm, moist, and calm region of the north-east coast of Queensland, hurricanes develop just as in the similar area north of Western Australia.

Owing, however, to the fact that their parabolic paths do not approach the land so closely as in Western Australia, we have very little data of their behaviour. They originate generally between Fiji and New Guinea, and move westward to Queensland. They usually hit the coastline near Cairns, and then "rebound" to the south-east—being carried thither by the dominant upper currents as in the western examples. Occasionally their path can be traced from shipping reports; but very often it is not possible to obtain mainland data, for the telegraphic and postal services are nearly always greatly disorganized for some time after the disaster. Two examples are briefly described, which will give some idea of their character.

, 1910.

(Figs. 93-96.)

On the night of the 24th, and early morning of Good Friday, the Fiji group of islands was visited by a tropical hurricane of exceptional severity, doing damage roughly estimated at over £250,000. The storm was a remarkable one, and its track can be followed for some 2,500 miles from Fiji to New Caledonia, Norfolk Island, and the North Island of New Zealand. The disturbance developed to the north—east of the Fijian group, and, moving in an approximately south-westerly direction, it travelled over Vanua Levu, and across to Viti Levu, passing close to Levuka and a little north of Suva. The Rewa River and the town of Nasouri, near its mouth, suffered most, for the full force of the hurricane came down the Rewa Valley. At Nausori the sugar mill was blown down, nearly every house in the town unroofed, and many totally destroyed; the river in places rose 35 feet, and every boat moored foundered. The banana, cane, and tobacco plantations were practically wiped out, and hundreds of settlers ruined. A number of native and Indians were killed, but, fortunately, the death roll was comparatively small, considering the violence of the storm. The force of the wind was almost incredible. At Nausori, a press correspondent of The Argus states that "churches, well built on concrete piles, were lifted bodily and dumped