Cyclone Tracy: The Legacy

DEC 19, 202434 MIN
ABC News Daily

Cyclone Tracy: The Legacy

DEC 19, 202434 MIN

Description

<p>Fifty years ago, Cyclone Tracy's ferocious winds destroyed 85 per cent of Darwin's housing and most of the city's infrastructure. </p><p>It was the third time Darwin had been razed to the ground by a cyclone, but within three days the prime minister had committed to rebuilding Australia's northern capital in the same spot. </p><p>In this final of a two-part series, Darwin reporter Jane Bardon hears how Tracy prompted an overhaul of the National Construction Code. </p><p>It's supposed to ensure buildings on Australia's northern coast can withstand a category four cyclone.</p><p>But is the building industry adhering to the code, and as climate change threatens more severe cyclones and storms surges, is the code up to the job?</p><p>Featured:</p><p>Jane Bardon, ABC Darwin journalist</p><p>Leo Athanasiou, Darwin builder and Athanasiou Group Director</p><p>Dawn Lawrie, former Northern Territory Assembly MLA</p><p>Jared Archibald, Museum and Art Gallery Northern Territory history curator</p><p>Elisha Harris, Harris Kmon Solutions structural engineer</p><p>Charmain Enthaler, Charles Darwin University architecture lecturer</p>