The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) has released the post-event report on the damage of the Tropical Cyclone Lam. The assessment of Lam’s impact in Australia clearly indicates that it was a category 4 cyclone at landfall, report shows.

In February 2015, large Northern Territory communities experienced the destructive strength of the cyclone. State of emergency had been declared by the NT government for the affected regions, including communities of Galiwin'ku, Milingimbi, Ramingining, Gapuwiyak and Mapuru Outstation, NT News reported.

The Guardian reported that Lam destroyed hundreds of houses in Galiwin’ku, where more than 2,000 people were settled by the time. Lam is the first severe tropical cyclone to cross the Northern Territory coast for almost a decade.

Low-end category 3 winds had hit Elcho Island and Milingimbi, while Ramingining experienced high-end category 3 winds, according to the assessment of recovered data from the bureau’s Automatic Weather Station network and the survey of damage to infrastructure and vegetation.

Aerial survey also shows that damage to coastlines and vegetation was more extensive than what was observed in the communities of Galiwin'ku, Milingimbi and Ramingining.

The post-event report shows that BOM followed the full life cycle of the system for about 11 days and released 67 Tropical Cyclone Advices, including 54 hourly updates leading into landfall. The bureau also issued 14 Severe Weather Warnings, 8 Flood Warnings and 7 Flood Watches.

The bureau recognised the contribution of radars in Gove and Warruwi throughout the event. It shows that the radars provided high-quality, 10-minute image updates for forecasters and to warn the communities across north eastern Arnhem Land.

Contact the writer at feedback@ibtimes.com.au or tell us what you think below

RELATED STORIES