How Can You Prepare for a Cyclone in Australia

Cyclone Overview in Australia

Low-pressure systems known as tropical cyclones, or TCs, form over the warm waters off Australia's northern shores. They may cause mighty winds, storm surge, severe rainfall, and floods, and their sizes and directions of motion can vary significantly. A five-category classification is used to describe a cyclone's intensity.

(Data Source: Queensland Fire and Emergency Services)

Six cyclones strike Australia's northern coastline each year, extending from northwestern Australia to north-eastern Queensland. The number of cyclones may appear tiny, but they can have devastating effects, with an estimated yearly damage bill of $3 billion. Cyclones are becoming one of our most dangerous natural disasters. (Data Source: James Cook University)

Cyclone Season in Australia

The cyclone season in Australia generally runs from November to April. However, preparations can and should begin much earlier.

The cyclone season in the Australian area in 2023-2024 saw below-average named storm activity for the sixth consecutive season. Even yet, it was the second successive year with at least five severe tropical storms, including the wettest tropical cyclone ever recorded in Australia.

Although a tropical cyclone may form between July 1, 2023, and June 30, 2024, it would contribute towards the season total. The season officially began on November 1, 2023, and concluded on April 30, 2024. 

One of the three tropical cyclone warning centres (TCWCs) in the area, run by the Indonesian Agency for Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics, the National Weather Service of Papua New Guinea, and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, was responsible for officially monitoring tropical cyclones during the season.

For the first time since 2017-18, the Australian area cyclone season of 2024-25 had an average level of cyclonic activity. Although a tropical cyclone might form at any point between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025, and would contribute towards the season total, the season officially started on November 1, 2024, and ended on April 30, 2025.

Cyclone Warnings You Should Know About

People conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) in cyclone-prone areas are advised to exercise great caution when it comes to exposing employees to the risks connected with cyclones, given the uncertainty and unpredictability of the damage caused by particular storms.

All PCBUs situated in cyclone-prone areas must have thorough emergency management plans that consider cyclone hazards. Advice from DFES and other regional emergency planning bodies regarding their locations should be incorporated into the emergency plans and processes.

The emergency preparations should include details for securing the location and guaranteeing worker safety. This should involve people's evacuation as well as the removal or restriction of unsecured objects and buildings.

Every movable building, donga, and lodging unit on construction sites and camps in cyclone-prone areas should be sufficiently secure. Before high-intensity cyclones pass close to the site during the Yellow (advice) and Orange (watch and act) alert warning phases, a safe and orderly evacuation of non-essential personnel from the project or camp should be considered.

Workers who are still on the scene during the cyclone should be relocated to a designated shelter well in advance of the cyclone's arrival to prevent injuries during the transfer to the shelter. If employees must remain on the job site, sufficient food and other necessities should be on hand in case strong winds or water shut down the location.

An adequate means of dependable emergency backup communication should be on hand to connect with external emergency services if assistance or support is needed, either during the Red (emergency warning) phase when all power must be isolated or if the power supply, telephone, or other communication systems are damaged or interrupted.

Every site should monitor cyclone warnings broadcast on television, radio, or the websites of the Department of Fire and Emergency Services or the Bureau of Meteorology. Battery-operated radios should be on hand in case of on-site power outages.

How Can You Prepare for A Cyclone in Australia?

There are preventative measures you can take if you live in a cyclone-prone location, and understanding how to survive one is essential. So, how can you prepare for a cyclone? Here's what to include in a cyclone emergency pack, how to be ready for a hurricane, and what to do in the event of one. 

How to Prepare for a Cyclone on a Boat?

Cyclones pose a significant boating risk due to high winds, torrential rain, and flooding. They can also cause storm surges, strong swells, and storm tides, which might contribute to hazardous conditions for boats and boat owners. Preparing before a cyclone arrives is critical to decrease the danger of damage, injury, or even death.

When a cyclone is predicted, don't venture out on the water. Conditions might change quickly and without warning. If you are already on the sea when a cyclone warning is issued, you must act soon to relocate to a safer place. Inform someone of your whereabouts.

Step 1: Check Your Mooring Lines

The most significant and least expensive defence you have to reduce the chance of damage to your boat during a tropical storm is to have an abundance of rope that is in good shape, fit for its intended use, and appropriately rated for your vessel.

1. Examine your ropes. Tropical storms and cyclones bring strong winds, high peak gusts, fluctuating wind directions, and surges, which put more strain on your ropes and raise the possibility that they may break. Ropes degrade under UV light, and unless they are stressed, the strength loss may not be apparent. Please verify that your mooring ropes are in good condition and that their load ratings correspond to your vessel's.

1. Synthetic fibres manufactured by humans, such as polyester, polythene, and polypropylene, degrade in the sun. Although polyester is the most resistant to UV deterioration, all materials will eventually disintegrate throughout one to three years. Once the UV damage starts, the degradation happens quickly rather than gradually.

1. The cheapest and best way to reduce damage to your yacht is to update your ropes. It has been demonstrated that keeping your boat safely in its berth requires appropriate mooring rope and an ample supply.

1. Strong winds from tropical storms and cyclones strain your mooring lines, causing them to stretch. Prepare for this by moving your boat in its berth and extending many spring lines to prevent the boat from riding up onto the floating pontoons, where it might damage or hole them. 

1. Place as many FENDERS as you can around your boat to keep it away from nearby boats and to prevent it from rubbing too much on the pontoons. Keep them low to the water to reduce the likelihood that they may ride up on top of the pontoons.

1. NEVER fasten your watercraft with chains. Ropes have a certain amount of give, but chains cannot extend.

1. AVOID attaching anchors or anchor chains to pylons or walkways. In the marina berth, anchors can be dropped to the bottom of the ocean. Ensure adequate wiggle room for the vessel's rise and fall caused by waves and tides.

1. To avoid jamming the rollers and seriously damaging the pontoons, DO NOT tie your boat to the marina pylons or the pylon brackets. Likewise, avoid tying rope to firefighting apparatus or marina pedestals. If there aren't many designated tie-off locations on board, use secure components like winches; mast stays, the mast base, top deck supports, and davit frames.

Step 2: Double Your Number of Mooring Lines

Run a whole set of extras as a backup to your primary set of ropes. To ensure that your boat will remain safely at your berth in the case of a cleat or line failure, these backup ropes should be tied off at different spots. Running as many lines as you can—including lines from the side of your boat that is not dockside—is the best way to ensure that the weights are distributed efficiently. Use cyclone rings where they are available.

Step 3: Reduce Wind Loadings to a Minimum

Any wind-catching surface increases the stress on your pontoons, tie-off points, and mooring lines. Deck equipment, such as lifebuoys, should be removed and stored below, along with all canopies and coverings.

Step 4: Secure Your Tender

Dinghies must be tightly tied to prevent them from becoming airborne missiles on deck, your davits, or in the water. Outboard engines should be taken out and stored below the deck. When dinghies are left on deck or davits, tilt them to allow for drainage, remove the bungs, and tie them with additional ropes.

How to Prepare for a Cyclone at Home?

To ensure that you and your family know what preparations will be required and that you have the time and resources to repair, upgrade, and store everything in preparation for severe weather, the first thing you should do at the beginning of cyclone season is to conduct a thorough vessel check of all systems, equipment, the hull, and the superstructure. The following are the steps and tips for preparing for a cyclone at home.

Step 1: Make A Preparation Plan

Imagine living in a cyclone-prone area, mainly if you recently relocated there. In such a scenario, you should find out whether your house and other constructions meet cyclone-resilient criteria by consulting your local council or building authority.

Most Northern Territory structures and homes constructed following Cyclone Tracy in the middle of the 1970s, for example, have been designed to resist gusts of 225-279km per hour. But buildings age, and a cyclone-proof house is not a reality. Therefore, starting to prepare for a cyclone early on is essential.

First and most importantly, you need to research local natural disaster management. See your local council to find out whether your area is likely to have severe storms, cyclones, floods, storm surges, or tsunamis. Review the emergency preparations, recommended evacuation paths, and zones for your neighbourhood. Ask your local government and other support groups what help is accessible. Download this cyclone emergency plan PDF to help you also be ready.

Download Cyclone Emergency Plan PDF >>

Then, consider your choices for refuge and evacuation. Plan to hide inside if you live outside of a storm-tide or flood-prone area and your house is well-built. Find the most important, safe place in your home where you might hide. Should you hide in your house? How long might you stay alone? You would need supplies worth several days. How many days?

Step 2: Pack An Emergency Kit

Making an emergency pack is another way to prepare for a cyclone. An emergency bag includes goods for basic necessities in a disaster, such as a hurricane, flood, or storm. Your pack should contain enough provisions to last several days should you lose water or electricity.

Check that you have enough for every member of your family. Store your goods in a readily accessible, waterproof container. Every season, check your kit to ensure the contents remain fresh and safe for use. Create your kit straight away.  

During a cyclone, a portable power station is absolutely vital since it guarantees a consistent supply of electricity for vital equipment, including medical tools, communication tools, and lighting. This is particularly true when the storm causes a blackout of the power grid, possibly saving lives by allowing important operations and keeping communication during a crisis.

Designed with Charge Shield technology, the Jackery Portable Power Stations guard electronics against voltage fluctuations. Their top-level shock resistance and 94V-0 fire rating help explain their outdoor endurance. Perfect switching to off-grid electricity (less than 20 milliseconds) guarantees refrigerators and appliances continue to work faultlessly during blackouts.

Step 3: Upgrade Your Property

Enhancing key areas where wind and rainwater inflict damage and identifying potential risks in your surroundings can lower the risk of cyclone damage to your property. These critical areas comprise the windows, roof, doors, garage doors, building attachments, and roof eaves; by applying Australian Standards, a building specialist will evaluate the wind loads on your property, producing wind pressures or a suitable wind classification for your area. 

Due to the strong uplifting forces, a building's roof is especially vulnerable during a cyclone. The form of the roof, among many other elements, influences the degree of these pressures; for instance, a structure with a near-flat roof receives more uplift forces than one with a hip roof. Because uplift details are crucial at roof ridges and edges, connections in these areas have to be quite strong.

Door and window damage can result from wind forces and wind-blown trash. Strong winds entering your house via broken windows or doors can cause significant internal pressures that raise your roof's likelihood of blowing off. This is in addition to the garage doors, downpipe, flashing, and other extras.

Step 4: Prepare for Pets or Livestock

Remember your pet and livestock as you get ready for cyclones. Make sure your pet and livestock are easily identified with a name tag or microchip, that you have a recent picture of them, and that you have your current cattle stock registrations. Regarding pet or animal care policies during an emergency, it also falls within your local government.

The greatest way to protect your pet is to move her to a safer place ahead of time. This could mean taking her to friends, relatives, animal boarding houses, or a makeshift animal shelter or evacuation centre.

You really should have a strategy for looking after livestock. Leaving early is the most outstanding approach to guaranteeing their safety. Install gates on interior fences while moving livestock to help prevent them from being sent onto public roads. Map the sites of the gates and water supplies on your property.  

Jackery Portable Power Stations for Cyclones

Cyclones often cause significant power outages, so when the grid fails, a portable power station can provide backup electricity for critical needs.

Keeping contact with family, emergency services, and authorities is essential during a cyclone; a power station can run the required communication equipment. Those reliant on medical equipment such as oxygen concentrators or ventilators can maintain life support using portable power stations.

Since Jackery Portable Power Stations provide consistent and stable power for your communication devices, medical equipment, essential home appliances and electronics, they are perfect for cyclone, hurricane, and storm emergencies.

Jackery Portable Power Stations combine portability with lightweight design. They weigh thirty percent less than comparable capacity items sold today. Their foldable handle lets you conveniently carry battery backup wherever you go and charge gadgets on the road. These strong, portable electric generators will keep 99% of items running.

Jackery Explorer 2000 Plus

With an expandable capacity of 2 to 12 kWh, Jackery Explorer 2000 Plus is suitable for unexpected power outages caused by Queensland cyclones, hurricanes, or storms. It can charge 99% of household appliances and electronics, such as lights, radios, phones, computers, etc. With a 20ms EPS, essential devices such as your refrigerator and CPAP remain operational instantaneously during a power outage.

The Explorer 2000 Plus requires only 6 hours for a complete solar charge when utilising 6 SolarSaga 100W solar panels. The power source achieves complete autonomy by using solar energy for charging, eliminating reliance on the power grid. You can recharge it with a wall outlet (1.7 hours) and carport (25 hours).

ChargeShield is Jackery's advanced quick charge technology, featuring 62 protective mechanisms, 12 protective algorithms, and four forms of physical safety protection. Manage and oversee your 2000 Plus with the Jackery App. It accommodates various devices, facilitates real-time status monitoring, and offers customisation options and additional features.

Jackery Explorer 1000 Plus

Compared to the Explorer 2000 Plus, the Jackery Explorer 1000 Plus (with 1.25 to 5 kWh expandable capacity) is more compact and inclined to use at home, off-grid cabin, or even on your boat—expandable to five power levels, offering three days of emergency backup for household use. The Jackery 1000 Plus is the premier selection for a portable power station and is adaptable for outdoor, domestic, and emergencies.

The 1000 Plus boasts a capacity of 1264 Wh and a 2000W output, the highest output among comparable items. It accommodates 99% of devices. During a cyclone in Australia, it can charge your lights to keep your home visible, power your kettle to make clean, drinkable water, and help your medical machine work.

The Jackery 1000 Plus features a robust 10-year lifespan with a Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) battery. It delivers a stable voltage and pure sine wave, ensuring the safety of all your electrical devices. The advanced ChargeShield technology and consistent power supply safeguard against possible equipment damage.

Utilise the state-of-the-art Advanced IBC Technology, guaranteeing an exceptionally rapid solar charge in about 4.5 hours (with 4*SolarSaga 100W). Experience unparalleled tranquillity with our silent, emission-free technology. 

How Can You Prepare for a Cyclone FAQs

The following are the frequently asked questions about preparing for a cyclone in Australia.

1. Where is the safest place to be during a cyclone?

Remain inside your home, away from glass doors, windows, and skylights. You should have additional batteries and a few flashlights on hand. If the storm damaged your home, turn off the gas and water at the main valves.

2. Which area of Australia is most at risk of cyclones?

The Northern Territory, northern Queensland, and northern Western Australia are the parts of Australia most susceptible to cyclones, with an average of nine to thirteen tropical storms every season.

3. How many Category 5 cyclones have hit Australia?

In Australia, defined as the area of the Southern Hemisphere between 90E and 160E, 48 tropical cyclones have reached their maximum intensity at Category 5.

4. How long do cyclones last?

Tropical cyclones may have unpredictable trajectories and last several days or even weeks. Once they pass over land or colder oceans, they will fade.

Final Thoughts

Even though they are unpredictable, cyclones can be lessened with careful planning and observation. For safety, it is essential to comprehend their types, classifications, and warning systems. Proactive actions save lives and minimise damage, whether securing your house, getting a boat ready, or creating an escape plan. To confidently tackle cyclones, remain aware and alert.