Seeking clues from past cyclones
Media release
25 March 1997
Natalie Blanchard, a student from RMIT Information Management and Library Studies, is creating a tropical cyclone archive for the National Meteorological Library in collaboration with the Bureau of Meteorology Research Centre at the Bureau's Head Office in Melbourne.
Through 1997 Natalie is collecting or copying text and reference books, anecdotes, reviews, stories, photographs, videos, conference proceedings, letters, and reports relating to pre-1975 tropical cyclones in the Australian, Asian and Indian region.
The project was initiated by Dr Greg Holland and Kendal McGuffie for the Tropical Cyclone Coastal Impacts Program. They hope the historical database on tropical cyclones will assist meteorologists in researching past tropical cyclones, and will help government organisations make better decisions to minimise cyclone impacts. Greg says historical data can be of great value in indicating the types of extreme events that have occurred, and thus may occur again.
Natalie has already found over 800 records in the National Meteorological Library, and another 200 in her initial search at the Head Office Registry and the State Library of Victoria. She is now moving into other areas such as CD-ROM and Internet searching.
The oldest historical reference so far is from 1258, when a Mongol battle fleet sailing to invade Japan was wiped out by a typhoon remembered as the 'divine wind' - kamikaze. More recent references include reports on the relatively little-known Bathurst Bay (Qld) cyclone of 1899, regarded as Australia's worst natural disaster.
Natalie is finding that correspondents are enthusiastic in reply to her letters. One woman, for instance, has written about her 93-year-old father, who has experienced many cyclones, and is supplying many historic photographs.
Natalie invites people who hold, or know of, relevant books, reports, diaries, illustrations and memorabilia to contact her:
Telephone: (03) 96694471
E-mail: n.blanchard@bom.gov.au
or by mail at:
National Meteorological Library,
GPO Box 1289K,
Melbourne VIC 3001.
Project inquiries: Dr Greg Holland (03) 9669 4501