TC Vance 20 years on

Severe TC Vance was one of the most intense cyclones to impact mainland Australia. The observed damage to buildings could be explained in terms of structural performance of those buildings. Combining the structural vulnerability of housing with an estimate of the maximum wind gusts, we can explore the possible impacts that a repeat of Vance would cause in Exmouth, and compare the outcomes with what occurred in 1999. The analysis of the impacts of TC Vance on present-day Exmouth shows that very few houses would be completely destroyed. Not surprisingly, older houses (pre-1980’s construction era, excluding the US Navy block houses) would dominate those destroyed, and most likely the timber-framed style houses, many of which were substantially damaged in TC Vance. Published in the Australian Journal of Emergency Management July 2019 edition