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Many houses lost their roofs or were destroyed almost completely

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There were many social impacts from Cyclone Larry, People lost their homes and their livelihoods. Some people lost their business from the flooding and destruction. Others had to move out of the area. Schools closed, particularly in Innisfail and Tully for weeks after it had passed. In the some cases, people were isolated with limited amounts of supplies.

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The Australian Army sent over 400 people to the disaster area with helicopters to transfer people, supplies and equipment to remote areas as well as to provide an overview of the damage (reconnaissance). Their engineers built and reconstructed roads and more major structures. A large part that the Army plays is getting communications back and ensuring that there is an availability of clean water.

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The SES, or State Emergency Services, sent over 450 volunteers to help. The SES would clear trees, remove debris, repair houses and provide emergency shelters as well as to rescue both people and animals.

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The response to disasters is normally the responsibility of the State in which it occurs, however, if the disaster is beyond the capacity of the states resources, the Federal Government is asked to help. The extent of the devastation caused by cyclone Larry was so widespread and unexpected that the both the Queensland and Federal Governments

decided that they should appoint someone to oversee the whole relief effort. The job was given to retired general, Peter Cosgrove. He oversaw all the different groups 450 volunteers from the State Emergency Services, the Army, the Red Cross, local government responses and many more.

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Scientists say that the protected no fishing areas and 'green zones' (protected areas of the reef) should be enforced and created to help the recovery.

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Banana Plantation damage near Innisfail

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Cyclone Larry had a severe impact on the economy of Queensland. Queensland relies mainly on tropical crops and tourism for income. Cyclone Larry and the weather following, ripped up and destroyed 80-90% of the banana plantations and many of the sugar and other tropical fruits, causing the prices to rise rapidly across the country. The rainfall flooded many of the coal mines near the coast, halting work and export. The aspect with the largest impact, was the drop in tourism to both the rainforest and reef. Many houses and buildings were damaged or destroyed. Over all, the estimated cost of rebuilding was nearly $1 billion.

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The devastation of Cyclone Larry extended over the majority of far North Queensland. Many habitats of animals on both land and in sea were damaged or destroyed. The strong winds uprooted trees and forests, according to parks authorities, 95% of rainforests were stripped bare where it struck the coast. Run-off from the high rainfall, ended up in the reef along with bracken, rubbish and debris. This polluted the water and combined with the rough seas, damaged coral drastically. Silt was stirred up, coating the coral and catching in animals’ lungs or gills. This damage resulted in a long recovery ahead.

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'Cyclone Larry Saves Reef from Major Bleaching Event

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'Cyclone Larry Saves Reef from Major Bleaching Event

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Cyclone Larry surprisingly prevented a major bleaching event, because of the drop in water temperature. But Professor Hoegh-Guldberg said cyclones could also have a destructive impact if they sat over coral reefs and broke them up through wave action.

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Willis Island weather monitor station was established in 1921 to provide an early warning systems for Queensland. Willis Island was one of the first warning systems to the Queensland government of Cyclone Larry.

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Cyclone Larry has devastated Australia's banana industry, destroying fruit worth $300 million and leaving up to 4,000 people out of work.

Australians now face a shortage of bananas and likely price rises after the cyclone tore through the heart of the nation's biggest growing region.

Queensland produces about 95 per cent of Australia's bananas.

The Australian Banana Growers Council said the storm had wrecked the industry, ruining 200,000 tonnes of fruit.

"The banana crop in north Queensland has been decimated, probably between 90 and 100 per cent of the total crop is on the ground," council president Patrick Leahy said.

"Innisfail and Tully took the brunt of it, a large section of the industry on the tablelands is knocked out and the only section that seems to have come away with less damage is the Kennedy area.

"That means better than 80 per cent of the total Australian crop is on the ground."

Mr Leahy said with total production estimated to be worth $380 million and $400 million for the year, the cyclone had destroyed as much as $350 million in produce.

It was the worst cyclone damage to crops he had seen in 16 years as a grower and the storm would have a huge and immediate impact on jobs.

"There's going to 3,000 or 4,000 unemployed within the next week," Mr Leahy said.

"All of our workers are not going to have a job because there's going to be no bananas to pick and pack.

"There's going to be a flow-on through to the towns and the supermarkets, people are going to move away, your transport operators - they're going to be out of production for six, seven months, the same as us.

"For the region on a whole it's going to be quite devastating."

Mr Leahy said he was amazed how fast the powerful cyclone, packing maximum winds of close to 300 kilometres an hour, tore through his farm at Tully.

"From daylight onwards it only took about an hour for us to go from a very nice crop of bananas to virtually total devastation," he said.

There would be shortages of bananas until the industry got back on its feet, Mr Leahy said. NSW, Western Australia and the Northern Territory grew less than five per cent of total production.

Australia does not allow banana imports because of the biosecurity risks in doing so.

Mr Leahy said he was hopeful that growers and workers would receive some help from the government.

"There's going to be a lot of soul searching for people in the industry because we've gone through a period of low prices and there's a lot of growers that are doing it fairly tough," he said.

"This put on top it, it's going to mean some hardship."

Bananas are grown throughout the year in north Queensland, with the fruit having a growing cycle of around two months.
AAP

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Cyclone devastates Australia's banana crop

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Cyclone Larry has devastated Australia's banana industry, destroying fruit worth $300 million and leaving up to 4,000 people out of work. Australians now face a shortage of bananas and likely price rises after the cyclone tore through the heart of the nation's biggest growing region. Queensland produces about 95 per cent of Australia's bananas.

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How Tropical Cyclones Form

1.     A tropical cyclone needs a cluster of thunderstorms and a warm body of water – at least 27 degrees –where it gathers its energy from.

2.     The tropical ocean under the developing storm evaporates and then condenses to form clouds, releasing heat throughout the process.

3.     The heat energy combined with the rotation of the Earth, gets the cyclone spinning and propels it forward.

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Cyclone Larry, a category 5 cyclone, swept through northern Queensland during March 2006, damaging houses, tearing up trees and crushing coral. The eye of cyclone Larry crossed through Innisfail on the 20th. It caused approximately $1 billion worth of damage to both crops and homes.

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One of the more positive aspects of this category five cyclone was that it brought many different people from other communities affected, together. Over 150 people from all over Australia came to help, rebuilding damaged schools and buildings. In total, over 6000 hours of community service was done. This aspect of Cyclone Larry showed how we respond to such an event and how we support those effected.