How to Survive a Cyclone
Cyclones are the most generously forecast disaster in Australia. Bushfires can start an hour away and arrive; flash floods can arrive in minutes. A cyclone announces itself days out, tracks across a map on the news, and gives you a genuine chance to be ready.
Which is precisely why people use the time badly. Forty-eight hours of warning gets spent watching the forecast rather than clearing the yard, and the shelter room gets chosen while the wind is already up.
The 10-minute version
- Watch means gales within 24–48 hours. Warning means within 24 hours or already happening. The Bureau updates a Watch every six hours and a Warning every three.
- Clear the yard at Watch, not at Warning. Anything loose becomes a projectile, and you cannot safely be outside later.
- The eye is not the end. The wind stops, then returns from the opposite direction. People are killed going outside during the lull.
The categories, in gusts
Category refers to the strongest wind gusts, and gusts are what break things.
| Category | Typical strongest gusts | What that means |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | up to ~125 km/h | Minor damage to houses, damage to crops and trees |
| 2 | 125–164 km/h | Damage to roofs and structures, trees down, power failures |
| 3 | 165–224 km/h | Structural damage, likely power failure over a wide area |
| 4 | 225–279 km/h | Significant roof and structural loss, widespread power failure |
| 5 | above 279 km/h | Extremely dangerous, widespread destruction |
Two things to hold alongside that table:
Storm surge is often the bigger killer, not wind. Low-lying coastal areas can flood well beyond the beach, and surge zones are mapped by your council and state service. Know whether you are in one, because that decides whether you shelter or evacuate.
Category is measured at the coast. Inland, the wind falls away but the rainfall does not — and cyclone rainfall causes flooding hundreds of kilometres from the crossing point.
The timeline
Before the season (October):
- Trim overhanging branches, clear gutters, and check the roof and any loose sheeting
- Know your surge and flood risk, and your evacuation route
- Assemble the kit: 72-hour kit, water, radio, torches, first aid, medication
- Check insurance covers flood, and understand what “storm surge” is treated as in your policy
At Watch (24–48 hours):
- Clear the yard. Furniture, pot plants, trampolines, bins, tools, kids’ toys, shade sails, anything loose. This is the job that must happen now
- Fill vehicles with fuel and park them under cover away from trees
- Fill water containers, the bath, and freeze bottles
- Charge everything; get cash out
- Choose and prepare the shelter room
- Confirm whether you are in an evacuation zone. If you are, leave — do not shelter in a surge zone
At Warning (within 24 hours):
- Everyone inside, plan closed
- Shelter room stocked: water, food, radio, torches, medication, first aid, mattresses or blankets
- Tape is not useful on windows; shutters, plywood or metal screens are
- Turn off gas and unplug appliances if advised
- Listen to ABC Local Radio on batteries
During:
- Stay in the shelter room, away from windows
- If the roof begins to go, shelter under a strong table or mattress and hold on
- Do not go outside when it goes calm. That is the eye
After:
- Wait for official advice before going out
- Assume every downed powerline is live — stay at least eight metres clear and call 000
- Do not drive through floodwater
- Boil water if advised; check the fridge against the food safety clock
- Photograph damage before moving anything, for insurance
The shelter room test
Pick it now and apply four tests:
- The smallest room with the fewest windows — usually a bathroom, laundry, hallway or a walk-in robe.
- On the lowest floor, away from the direction the wind is forecast to come from.
- Something strong to shelter under — a solid table, a bench, a mattress you can pull over yourselves.
- Room for everyone, including pets, for several hours.
Stock it before the Warning: water, snacks, radio, torches, first aid kit, medication, phone chargers, shoes, and a mattress or blankets. Add a whistle, so that if the worst happens you can be heard.
What actually goes wrong
The yard gets cleared at Warning, when it is already dangerous to be outside.
People shelter in a surge zone. If you are in an evacuation area, the plan is to leave, not to prepare well.
Somebody goes outside during the eye. The most consistently fatal mistake in cyclones.
Windows are taped. It does nothing structurally and provides false confidence. Shutters or plywood work; tape does not.
The car is parked under a tree or left in a low-lying carpark.
No cash, and EFTPOS is out for days across an entire region.
Nobody knows the plan for pets, so someone goes back.
The kit is in the shed and the shed is the least survivable structure on the property.
Recovery is underestimated. Power can be out for a week or more after a significant crossing, which is a very different preparation than three days.
Thresholds
| Situation | The rule |
|---|---|
| Before the season | Gutters, branches, roof checked. Kit assembled. Insurance verified |
| Watch issued (24–48 hrs) | Yard cleared, fuel filled, water stored, shelter room prepared |
| In a surge or evacuation zone | Leave. Do not shelter |
| Warning issued (within 24 hrs) | Everyone inside, shelter room stocked, plan closed |
| During | Away from windows. Under something solid if the roof goes |
| Sudden calm | Stay inside. It is the eye and the wind will return reversed |
| After | Wait for advice. 8 metres from any powerline. No driving through water |
| Water supply | Boil if advised; assume contamination after flooding |
What it costs
| Tier | Spend | What it buys |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Yard cleared, shelter room chosen and tested, surge risk checked, insurance read, water and bath filled, phones charged |
| Solid | ~$150–250 | Battery radio, headlamps, power bank, first aid kit, 9 L water per person, a week of no-cook food, $300 cash |
| Better | ~$400–900 | Two weeks of food and water, esky and ice, camp stove for outdoor use, tarpaulins and rope for temporary repairs, work gloves |
| Structural | $1,000–15,000+ | Cyclone shutters or screens, roof tie-down upgrades, garage door bracing. Real protection, and worth costing against your insurance excess |
The drill: the pre-season two hours
- Twenty minutes. Check your address against your council’s storm tide and flood maps. Write down whether you evacuate or shelter.
- Twenty minutes. Walk the yard and list everything that would need to be moved or tied down. Keep the list with the plan
- Twenty minutes. Choose the shelter room and apply the four tests. Check that a mattress fits through the door
- Twenty minutes. Clear the gutters and look at the roof for loose sheeting
- Twenty minutes. Read your insurance policy for flood and storm surge wording. Ring the insurer if it is unclear
- Twenty minutes. Assemble or check the kit, and put it somewhere in the house rather than the shed
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a cyclone Watch and a Warning?
A Watch means gales are expected to begin within 24 to 48 hours and is updated every six hours. A Warning means gales are expected within 24 hours or are already occurring, and is updated every three hours. Clear the yard at Watch.
What do cyclone categories mean?
They describe the strongest expected wind gusts: Category 1 up to about 125 km/h, Category 2 125–164, Category 3 165–224, Category 4 225–279, and Category 5 above 279 km/h. Category is measured at the coast; rainfall and flooding extend far inland.
Why is it dangerous to go outside when the wind stops?
Because that is the eye of the cyclone. The wind returns from the opposite direction, often abruptly, and people are killed going outside during the lull.
Should I tape my windows?
No. Tape does nothing structurally and creates false confidence. Shutters, plywood or metal screens provide real protection.
Which room should I shelter in?
The smallest room with the fewest windows, on the lowest floor, away from the forecast wind direction, with something solid to shelter under — usually a bathroom, laundry or hallway. Stock it before the Warning is issued.
What if I am in a storm surge zone?
Leave. Storm surge is frequently more lethal than wind, and a well-prepared house in a surge zone is still in a surge zone. Check your address on your council’s storm tide map before the season.