How much damage was caused by Cyclone Tracy?

On Christmas Day, 25 December 1974, the cyclone left Darwin in shreds. The wind gauge at Darwin Airport officially recorded winds of 217 kilometres per hour before being blown away itself.

71 people were killed, and 9,000 homes destroyed, out of a city of 43,500 people living in 12,000 residences. Many buildings were not built to withstand cyclonic forces, despite being in the cyclone belt. Of the people aboard the 22 vessels at sea when the cyclone struck, 16 were never found.

Most of Darwin's residents were evacuated following the devastation, and many of them never returned. However, Darwin was rebuilt according to new building codes, and it is now regarded as a modern multicultural city of around 100,000 people.