Houses destroyed by Cyclone Tracy, Darwin, December 1974

Cyclone Tracy hit Darwin in the early hours of Christmas Day 1974. It was one of the most destructive cyclones ever recorded in Australia. Wind gusts reached 217 kilometres per hour before the anemometer (weather measuring device) was destroyed. Sixty-six people were killed and 145 people were seriously injured because of the cyclone, and 80 per cent of the city was destroyed or severely damaged.