1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:04,360 Speaker 1: This week we're commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of Cyclone Tracy, 2 00:00:04,720 --> 00:00:07,520 Speaker 1: looking at it from every angle to remember those who 3 00:00:07,600 --> 00:00:12,440 Speaker 1: lost their lives, those who survived, also highlighting the resilience 4 00:00:12,640 --> 00:00:16,880 Speaker 1: and recovery. The cyclone, which struck Darwin on Christmas Eve 5 00:00:17,079 --> 00:00:20,800 Speaker 1: in nineteen seventy four is one of the most devastating 6 00:00:20,920 --> 00:00:24,680 Speaker 1: natural disasters. And joining me now in the studio is 7 00:00:24,760 --> 00:00:31,120 Speaker 1: the Bureau of Meteorology's senior meteorologist, Ian Shepherd, who has 8 00:00:31,400 --> 00:00:34,199 Speaker 1: looked very closely at Cyclone Tracy. 9 00:00:34,280 --> 00:00:36,520 Speaker 2: Good morning to you, Ian, Good morning Katie. 10 00:00:36,800 --> 00:00:39,319 Speaker 1: Lovely to have you on the show. Now, Ian, can 11 00:00:39,360 --> 00:00:42,599 Speaker 1: you shed some light on the size of Cyclone Tracy 12 00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:45,720 Speaker 1: and the category of the system. 13 00:00:45,720 --> 00:00:50,560 Speaker 2: Sure, Cyclone Tracy was a very small cyclone, and because 14 00:00:50,600 --> 00:00:54,360 Speaker 2: of that, its energy was concentrated in a very small area. 15 00:00:54,480 --> 00:00:57,800 Speaker 2: So just the side of the system was around fifty 16 00:00:57,880 --> 00:01:01,680 Speaker 2: kilometers across, and the really imaging winds were only probably 17 00:01:01,720 --> 00:01:04,360 Speaker 2: ten kilometers or fifteen kilometers out from the center of 18 00:01:04,400 --> 00:01:07,000 Speaker 2: the cyclone. So you can see that it could have 19 00:01:07,480 --> 00:01:10,840 Speaker 2: dodged Darwin very easily by taking a small jig to 20 00:01:10,880 --> 00:01:12,880 Speaker 2: the left or right, but it didn't. It came straight over. 21 00:01:13,200 --> 00:01:16,360 Speaker 1: Well, that's probably quite surprising for some people to hear, 22 00:01:16,440 --> 00:01:19,320 Speaker 1: because I think when you think about the damage that 23 00:01:19,400 --> 00:01:22,920 Speaker 1: Cyclone Tracy caused, I know for me, I just sort 24 00:01:22,920 --> 00:01:25,320 Speaker 1: of assumed that it was a massive cyclone. 25 00:01:26,520 --> 00:01:29,240 Speaker 2: Well, it was a very strong cyclone, but not big 26 00:01:29,280 --> 00:01:32,920 Speaker 2: in size, so that's I guess one unusual aspect of it. 27 00:01:33,400 --> 00:01:35,800 Speaker 1: Now, talk me through. You have had really quite a 28 00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:39,400 Speaker 1: close look at Cyclone Tracy in a lot of different ways. 29 00:01:39,640 --> 00:01:41,920 Speaker 1: What are some of the interesting things that you've found 30 00:01:41,959 --> 00:01:42,920 Speaker 1: about the cyclone. 31 00:01:43,880 --> 00:01:47,320 Speaker 2: Well, it followed a track which allowed it to intensify 32 00:01:47,440 --> 00:01:50,120 Speaker 2: quite strongly over the previous few days before it came 33 00:01:50,160 --> 00:01:53,560 Speaker 2: to Darwin, and somehow it managed to dodge the TV islands. 34 00:01:53,640 --> 00:01:56,560 Speaker 2: So cyclones if they move over land will weaken, and 35 00:01:56,600 --> 00:01:59,920 Speaker 2: it just stayed over the warm ocean waters and turned 36 00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:03,040 Speaker 2: the corner around Bathist Island and then came on a 37 00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:06,520 Speaker 2: direct B line for Darwin, which is an extraordinary track really. 38 00:02:06,720 --> 00:02:09,240 Speaker 1: And you touched on a moment ago those wind speeds. 39 00:02:09,280 --> 00:02:13,800 Speaker 1: But talk me through just how intense Cyclone Tracy was. 40 00:02:14,680 --> 00:02:18,120 Speaker 2: We don't really know because the bureau's measuring equipment did 41 00:02:18,160 --> 00:02:20,560 Speaker 2: fail when the winds got up to two hundred and 42 00:02:20,600 --> 00:02:24,799 Speaker 2: seventeen kilometers an hour. Now that is a category four cyclone. 43 00:02:25,960 --> 00:02:29,360 Speaker 2: But in some other re analysis, you know, some of 44 00:02:29,360 --> 00:02:31,400 Speaker 2: the Bureau of Meteorology staff have had a good look at 45 00:02:31,400 --> 00:02:36,320 Speaker 2: it using modern techniques that estimated that the winds could 46 00:02:36,320 --> 00:02:38,080 Speaker 2: have been in the range two hundred and fifty to 47 00:02:38,120 --> 00:02:40,920 Speaker 2: two hundred and ninety kilometers an hour, which is probably 48 00:02:40,960 --> 00:02:44,639 Speaker 2: consistent with the damage we saw. That still rates it 49 00:02:44,720 --> 00:02:48,480 Speaker 2: at high category four, but you know, it's very hard 50 00:02:48,520 --> 00:02:51,000 Speaker 2: to tell whether it actually reached a category five intensity 51 00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:54,239 Speaker 2: before coming ashore. No one will know, of course, well when. 52 00:02:54,080 --> 00:02:56,440 Speaker 1: You touched on there as well, the fact that some 53 00:02:56,480 --> 00:02:59,400 Speaker 1: of that equipment, you know, it did fail. Talk me through, 54 00:02:59,520 --> 00:03:02,040 Speaker 1: you know, some of the issues that they had at 55 00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:04,679 Speaker 1: the time of cyclone Tracy. I mean we are sort 56 00:03:04,720 --> 00:03:07,919 Speaker 1: of talking fifty years ago. I would imagine that some 57 00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:11,679 Speaker 1: of the methods in terms of predicting a cyclone and 58 00:03:11,919 --> 00:03:15,080 Speaker 1: the path that's going to take may be similar, but 59 00:03:15,160 --> 00:03:17,560 Speaker 1: then some of the others might be entirely different. 60 00:03:18,919 --> 00:03:23,320 Speaker 2: Sure, when a cyclone effects an area, it affects communications. 61 00:03:23,360 --> 00:03:26,360 Speaker 2: So this is one of the impacts on the Bureau, 62 00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:29,240 Speaker 2: which was located in town at the time. In Darwin City, 63 00:03:30,200 --> 00:03:33,080 Speaker 2: and so the communication link between the airport where the 64 00:03:33,120 --> 00:03:36,440 Speaker 2: instrumentation is and the office where the forecasters were based 65 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:41,840 Speaker 2: that got broken when that piece of equipment broke, and 66 00:03:41,920 --> 00:03:44,080 Speaker 2: that the piece of equipment that measures the wind is 67 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:46,680 Speaker 2: called an animometer, and it's rated to two hundred and 68 00:03:46,720 --> 00:03:50,080 Speaker 2: fifty kilometers an hour. But we can only assume that 69 00:03:50,520 --> 00:03:52,920 Speaker 2: as a cyclone got more intense, it got hit by 70 00:03:52,920 --> 00:03:55,960 Speaker 2: debris and wiped out because of that. So these are 71 00:03:56,000 --> 00:03:58,560 Speaker 2: risks which still exist today. And we have the same 72 00:03:58,640 --> 00:04:02,800 Speaker 2: sorts of equipment for measuring the cyclone winds. But what 73 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:09,600 Speaker 2: we have different now is a whole set of observational platforms, satellites. 74 00:04:10,360 --> 00:04:12,920 Speaker 2: We still use radar radar was used in ninety seventy four, 75 00:04:13,560 --> 00:04:17,640 Speaker 2: but we also have very sophisticated measuring and prediction techniques 76 00:04:17,720 --> 00:04:19,440 Speaker 2: based on computer modeling as well. 77 00:04:20,160 --> 00:04:23,720 Speaker 1: Yeah, it'd be very different, very different, I would imagine 78 00:04:23,880 --> 00:04:26,159 Speaker 1: for you working at the bureau now to what it 79 00:04:26,240 --> 00:04:29,039 Speaker 1: might have been for somebody working there fifty years ago. 80 00:04:29,800 --> 00:04:33,159 Speaker 2: Indeed, and I actually came to Darwin about forty years ago, 81 00:04:33,240 --> 00:04:37,440 Speaker 2: and the techniques were similar to nineteen seventy five, and 82 00:04:37,600 --> 00:04:41,039 Speaker 2: a lot of the process was to draw a chart 83 00:04:41,320 --> 00:04:45,720 Speaker 2: based on whether observations which are received from various remote 84 00:04:45,720 --> 00:04:49,880 Speaker 2: places and they're radioed in or they use satellite communications 85 00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:54,479 Speaker 2: to get those observations into the forecasting office. And back 86 00:04:54,520 --> 00:04:58,320 Speaker 2: in those days, we had staff to manually write those 87 00:04:58,760 --> 00:05:01,719 Speaker 2: weather reports on a chart and then the forecasters would 88 00:05:01,720 --> 00:05:04,760 Speaker 2: analyze the chart and make predictions based on that. And 89 00:05:04,800 --> 00:05:09,240 Speaker 2: there was very little computer technology back then, of course, 90 00:05:09,279 --> 00:05:11,040 Speaker 2: in ninety seventy five, so based on. 91 00:05:10,960 --> 00:05:12,560 Speaker 1: The way that they used to do things, you know, 92 00:05:12,640 --> 00:05:15,080 Speaker 1: writing on the chart and that kind of stuff. Has 93 00:05:15,120 --> 00:05:18,800 Speaker 1: the Bureau still got all of those records from Tracy. 94 00:05:19,080 --> 00:05:21,359 Speaker 2: They do. Yes, there's a national archive of where the 95 00:05:21,480 --> 00:05:25,320 Speaker 2: charts and the tropical cyclones. The Bureau does retain some 96 00:05:25,360 --> 00:05:29,520 Speaker 2: of that information in perpetuity, and some of it has 97 00:05:29,560 --> 00:05:32,120 Speaker 2: been scanned in and electronic forms so people can access 98 00:05:32,160 --> 00:05:34,160 Speaker 2: it in that way as well as the hard copy. 99 00:05:34,400 --> 00:05:37,000 Speaker 1: Yeah, well you have you had a look at that, 100 00:05:37,120 --> 00:05:39,679 Speaker 1: and what's it sort of like then going back through 101 00:05:40,160 --> 00:05:43,160 Speaker 1: you know, some of those charts, and I guess what 102 00:05:43,240 --> 00:05:45,480 Speaker 1: they were predicting at that point in. 103 00:05:45,400 --> 00:05:50,080 Speaker 2: Time, Yes, And I guess. One of the exercises which 104 00:05:50,080 --> 00:05:54,560 Speaker 2: has been done by research is to model tropical cyclone 105 00:05:54,839 --> 00:06:00,480 Speaker 2: or the severe tropical cyclone Tracy using more modern technique, yep. 106 00:06:00,880 --> 00:06:05,919 Speaker 2: And if we were forecasting Tracy these days, we expect 107 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:08,559 Speaker 2: we would have quite an accurate prediction within a couple 108 00:06:08,560 --> 00:06:12,679 Speaker 2: of days of the cyclone forming. So yeah, at the time, 109 00:06:12,880 --> 00:06:16,040 Speaker 2: the Bureau was watching very carefully as it to tracked 110 00:06:16,080 --> 00:06:19,000 Speaker 2: past a weather observation side at Cape Foucrow, which is 111 00:06:19,040 --> 00:06:22,200 Speaker 2: on the western end of Bathostylin, and they were looking 112 00:06:22,240 --> 00:06:25,640 Speaker 2: closely at those observations to work out if the cyclone 113 00:06:25,680 --> 00:06:28,040 Speaker 2: was changing direction. And that was the crucial time when 114 00:06:28,080 --> 00:06:31,520 Speaker 2: it turned to track southeast towards Darwin. 115 00:06:31,880 --> 00:06:34,760 Speaker 1: And I can't even begin to imagine then what it 116 00:06:34,839 --> 00:06:37,800 Speaker 1: must have been like for those working at the Bureau 117 00:06:38,560 --> 00:06:43,280 Speaker 1: having an idea of what was coming, and you know, 118 00:06:43,320 --> 00:06:46,560 Speaker 1: how like how frightening it would sort of be, because 119 00:06:46,560 --> 00:06:50,159 Speaker 1: you guys can track, you know, to like it said, 120 00:06:50,200 --> 00:06:52,400 Speaker 1: to quite an accurate degree. And I know it was 121 00:06:52,440 --> 00:06:54,800 Speaker 1: different fifty years ago, but I can't begin to imagine 122 00:06:54,800 --> 00:06:57,240 Speaker 1: what it must have been like for them then, thinking, 123 00:06:57,640 --> 00:06:59,960 Speaker 1: goodness me, we've got to notify the people of Darwin 124 00:07:00,279 --> 00:07:02,640 Speaker 1: what we're expecting, and how hard that would have been. 125 00:07:02,680 --> 00:07:04,280 Speaker 1: Then on Christmas Eve. 126 00:07:04,839 --> 00:07:08,040 Speaker 2: Indeed, most of the population was distracted with preparations for 127 00:07:08,120 --> 00:07:11,680 Speaker 2: Christmas Day and perhaps you know, partying on and all 128 00:07:11,680 --> 00:07:15,120 Speaker 2: that sort of thing. And yeah, that the advice to 129 00:07:15,200 --> 00:07:19,280 Speaker 2: Darwin was really upgraded around lunchtime with Christmas Eve, so really, 130 00:07:19,760 --> 00:07:23,200 Speaker 2: you know, it's not long before the impact started later 131 00:07:23,280 --> 00:07:26,559 Speaker 2: that evening, and so although Darwen was in the warning 132 00:07:26,560 --> 00:07:31,360 Speaker 2: area before then, the forecasters didn't really know until the 133 00:07:31,360 --> 00:07:34,560 Speaker 2: middle of Christmas Eve that it was going to come 134 00:07:34,600 --> 00:07:36,200 Speaker 2: straight through close to Darwin. 135 00:07:36,920 --> 00:07:43,200 Speaker 1: And have we ever seen anything like Cyclone Tracy again 136 00:07:43,240 --> 00:07:46,600 Speaker 1: across Australia. I mean, I know that there's been a 137 00:07:46,600 --> 00:07:50,960 Speaker 1: lot of different cyclones across Northern Australia over the last 138 00:07:51,000 --> 00:07:54,000 Speaker 1: fifty years, but have we ever seen anything quite like 139 00:07:54,080 --> 00:07:55,120 Speaker 1: it again. 140 00:07:55,960 --> 00:07:58,240 Speaker 2: In terms of its size and intensity. We have seen 141 00:07:58,280 --> 00:08:01,720 Speaker 2: those again, but they've never had the same impact on 142 00:08:01,760 --> 00:08:05,360 Speaker 2: a community. And often it's we're aware of this because 143 00:08:05,440 --> 00:08:07,920 Speaker 2: we track them with satellites and we're able to see 144 00:08:07,960 --> 00:08:10,760 Speaker 2: the size of the cyclone and how strong it is. 145 00:08:12,080 --> 00:08:15,880 Speaker 2: And so they have been cyclone similar to Tracy affecting 146 00:08:15,920 --> 00:08:18,960 Speaker 2: the Kimberly area and also parts of Queensland as well. 147 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:24,200 Speaker 2: But fortunately because when they're very small, they strengthen quickly 148 00:08:24,240 --> 00:08:27,800 Speaker 2: and they're weakened quickly. So it's very unusual to get 149 00:08:27,800 --> 00:08:31,320 Speaker 2: a direct hit like Tracy did on a community. 150 00:08:31,320 --> 00:08:34,640 Speaker 1: And the impacts were absolutely devastating, you know, as we've heard, 151 00:08:34,880 --> 00:08:39,600 Speaker 1: as we as so many Cyclone Tracy survivors will tell you, 152 00:08:39,720 --> 00:08:42,720 Speaker 1: and people remember the exact moment they were, you know, 153 00:08:43,280 --> 00:08:48,040 Speaker 1: when that cyclone struck. I mean, you do sort of 154 00:08:48,080 --> 00:08:52,040 Speaker 1: wonder in terms of the reasons behind the extent of 155 00:08:52,080 --> 00:08:54,840 Speaker 1: the damage, Like I think there probably are our building 156 00:08:54,920 --> 00:08:57,600 Speaker 1: codes and things like that have certainly changed. But as 157 00:08:57,640 --> 00:09:01,439 Speaker 1: you've touched on the path, the cyclone sounds as I 158 00:09:01,440 --> 00:09:03,439 Speaker 1: it had a massive impact. 159 00:09:04,559 --> 00:09:07,840 Speaker 2: It did. And what was extraordinary was just a week 160 00:09:08,000 --> 00:09:12,400 Speaker 2: or two beforehand, they were cyclones Selma, which passed around 161 00:09:12,440 --> 00:09:15,320 Speaker 2: Bathiste and on a similar track, and then it went 162 00:09:15,360 --> 00:09:17,800 Speaker 2: off to the west north of the Kimberley. So it 163 00:09:17,840 --> 00:09:19,880 Speaker 2: was a kind of a false alarm because Darwin was 164 00:09:19,920 --> 00:09:24,439 Speaker 2: warned for that cyclone, But then when Tracy formed coming 165 00:09:24,480 --> 00:09:28,400 Speaker 2: around the similar track, it was probably a harder job 166 00:09:28,440 --> 00:09:31,400 Speaker 2: to actually persuade the bulk of the population that this 167 00:09:31,440 --> 00:09:32,320 Speaker 2: was a serious threat. 168 00:09:32,480 --> 00:09:35,400 Speaker 1: Yeah, and it's probably something that's difficult for the Bureau 169 00:09:35,559 --> 00:09:39,000 Speaker 1: to sort of to make sure that people every single year, 170 00:09:39,440 --> 00:09:42,120 Speaker 1: to make sure that people do actually prepare for a cyclone, 171 00:09:42,120 --> 00:09:44,480 Speaker 1: because you actually never know when you're going to get 172 00:09:44,480 --> 00:09:45,920 Speaker 1: one like Cyclone Tracy. 173 00:09:45,960 --> 00:09:49,640 Speaker 2: Again, that's right, we say only takes one and so yeah, 174 00:09:49,640 --> 00:09:52,480 Speaker 2: but the Bureau of Miurology nowadays works very closely with 175 00:09:52,520 --> 00:09:57,400 Speaker 2: the Anti Emergency Service and messaging is prepared well ahead 176 00:09:57,400 --> 00:10:00,440 Speaker 2: of the season so people get ready, and then as 177 00:10:00,440 --> 00:10:04,319 Speaker 2: a cyclone forms and possibly approaches Darwin or other parts 178 00:10:04,320 --> 00:10:08,520 Speaker 2: of the territory, lots of communication happens through many, many 179 00:10:08,600 --> 00:10:12,840 Speaker 2: channels that didn't happen in nineteen seventy four because back 180 00:10:12,840 --> 00:10:15,480 Speaker 2: then people relied on the radio basically, and that was 181 00:10:15,520 --> 00:10:16,160 Speaker 2: probably it. 182 00:10:16,480 --> 00:10:19,600 Speaker 1: Yeah, now tell me, I mean, I know that there's 183 00:10:19,600 --> 00:10:23,240 Speaker 1: obviously been lots of changes technology wise and that kind 184 00:10:23,280 --> 00:10:26,160 Speaker 1: of thing since Cyclone Tracy, But did it spark any 185 00:10:26,200 --> 00:10:29,000 Speaker 1: major changes from within the Bureau of Meteorology in the 186 00:10:29,040 --> 00:10:31,720 Speaker 1: way that you maybe predict things differently. 187 00:10:33,040 --> 00:10:36,960 Speaker 2: Absolutely, And obviously it was a big jolt and a 188 00:10:37,040 --> 00:10:41,080 Speaker 2: shock to the forecasters, and a very careful analysis was 189 00:10:41,120 --> 00:10:44,599 Speaker 2: done afterwards to see how we could improve the services 190 00:10:44,600 --> 00:10:48,360 Speaker 2: for the community, and so a range of things have 191 00:10:48,400 --> 00:10:51,920 Speaker 2: come to pass since then, but one of the key 192 00:10:51,960 --> 00:10:58,040 Speaker 2: ones was providing community action advice in the cyclone advice itself. 193 00:10:58,120 --> 00:11:00,280 Speaker 2: So not only were you talk about the meteorology, talk 194 00:11:00,760 --> 00:11:05,040 Speaker 2: about what anti emergency service tells us what to include 195 00:11:05,240 --> 00:11:08,560 Speaker 2: to tell the community what to do to prepare, but 196 00:11:08,679 --> 00:11:11,520 Speaker 2: in terms of the actual forecasting, it's a much more 197 00:11:11,559 --> 00:11:14,720 Speaker 2: technical business nowadays, and we have lots of computer modeling 198 00:11:14,760 --> 00:11:18,360 Speaker 2: to help us with that, and so the accuracy of 199 00:11:18,400 --> 00:11:20,640 Speaker 2: our predictions is much greater than it used to be, 200 00:11:20,679 --> 00:11:23,040 Speaker 2: so we can be more confident with the messages we 201 00:11:23,080 --> 00:11:23,720 Speaker 2: give to the public. 202 00:11:23,880 --> 00:11:27,200 Speaker 1: Yep. Yeah, And I guess like you've touched on there 203 00:11:27,240 --> 00:11:30,160 Speaker 1: is you know, there would be so much different equipment, 204 00:11:30,280 --> 00:11:33,040 Speaker 1: so many different sort of big pieces of technology that 205 00:11:33,080 --> 00:11:35,880 Speaker 1: you're able to use, even the satellite imagery and all 206 00:11:35,920 --> 00:11:38,760 Speaker 1: that kind of thing. You know, some of the images 207 00:11:38,800 --> 00:11:41,520 Speaker 1: you see that come out of the Bureau at different 208 00:11:41,559 --> 00:11:43,720 Speaker 1: times as well, you can literally sort of see some 209 00:11:43,760 --> 00:11:46,920 Speaker 1: of those storm systems, even for a general punter like me. 210 00:11:47,640 --> 00:11:51,600 Speaker 2: Yes, well, on the bureau's website, we do have ten 211 00:11:51,640 --> 00:11:55,520 Speaker 2: minute updates of satellite images and five minute updates of radar, 212 00:11:56,120 --> 00:11:58,600 Speaker 2: and we run loops and animation so you can see 213 00:11:58,600 --> 00:12:02,360 Speaker 2: how things are progressing. We actually have an arrangement with 214 00:12:02,440 --> 00:12:06,360 Speaker 2: the Japan Meteorological Agency, which runs the main satellite that 215 00:12:06,400 --> 00:12:11,360 Speaker 2: we use, to actually run a more rapid scanning strategy, 216 00:12:11,400 --> 00:12:15,439 Speaker 2: and it will actually look at a cyclone and take 217 00:12:15,480 --> 00:12:17,760 Speaker 2: an image every minute or every thirty seconds, so that 218 00:12:17,800 --> 00:12:20,160 Speaker 2: we can really see how it's evolving during in our life. 219 00:12:20,280 --> 00:12:23,920 Speaker 2: So the technology to allow us to do that is extraordinary. 220 00:12:23,960 --> 00:12:28,600 Speaker 2: And another part of the story is the supercomputers that 221 00:12:28,640 --> 00:12:32,400 Speaker 2: support the forecasting efforts. So the Bureau of Metrology, together 222 00:12:32,440 --> 00:12:35,800 Speaker 2: with CSRO, has this what we call an Earth System 223 00:12:36,120 --> 00:12:41,200 Speaker 2: modelings capability, So not only does it predict what the 224 00:12:41,200 --> 00:12:43,840 Speaker 2: atmosphere is doing, it predicts what the oceans are doing. 225 00:12:43,920 --> 00:12:48,000 Speaker 2: It also incorporates some of the information from the Earth's 226 00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:51,560 Speaker 2: surface as well, and that all helps to increase the 227 00:12:51,640 --> 00:12:54,840 Speaker 2: accuracy of predictions of weather systems like cyclones. 228 00:12:55,920 --> 00:12:59,360 Speaker 1: Yeah, I'll tell you what you know. Isn't it great 229 00:12:59,480 --> 00:13:02,679 Speaker 1: that we have the way in which that technology has 230 00:13:02,760 --> 00:13:06,360 Speaker 1: evolved in terms of predicting those cyclones, because I think, 231 00:13:06,559 --> 00:13:08,280 Speaker 1: you know, one of the really big things for so 232 00:13:08,400 --> 00:13:11,440 Speaker 1: many of us is making sure that we are prepared 233 00:13:11,640 --> 00:13:15,080 Speaker 1: and should something like Cyclone Tracy ever be bearing down 234 00:13:15,080 --> 00:13:17,679 Speaker 1: on us again. You know, at least we sort of 235 00:13:17,720 --> 00:13:21,520 Speaker 1: know that we've got that accurate information coming through so 236 00:13:21,679 --> 00:13:24,760 Speaker 1: often to sort of help people to be even more prepared. 237 00:13:25,440 --> 00:13:28,480 Speaker 2: That's right. And when you think about your mobile phone, 238 00:13:28,640 --> 00:13:30,840 Speaker 2: you know, giving your messages and updates as soon as 239 00:13:30,840 --> 00:13:34,360 Speaker 2: their issue, it means that no one really has an 240 00:13:34,400 --> 00:13:40,000 Speaker 2: excuse for not knowing the latest information, and the Emergency 241 00:13:40,040 --> 00:13:44,120 Speaker 2: Service and the Bureau ensure that those updates have issued 242 00:13:44,160 --> 00:13:46,400 Speaker 2: regularly and as often as we can. 243 00:13:47,400 --> 00:13:50,680 Speaker 1: Well, Senior Meteorologist Ian Sheppard, it's been really great to 244 00:13:50,720 --> 00:13:52,920 Speaker 1: speak with you this morning. I really appreciate your time. 245 00:13:52,960 --> 00:13:55,199 Speaker 1: It's so insightful to sort of find out more and 246 00:13:55,640 --> 00:13:57,960 Speaker 1: you know, I get a better understanding of the way 247 00:13:57,960 --> 00:14:01,280 Speaker 1: in which those cyclones are indeed act, but also a 248 00:14:01,280 --> 00:14:04,720 Speaker 1: bit of a better understanding of Cyclone Tracy fifty years later. 249 00:14:05,360 --> 00:14:07,280 Speaker 2: Indeed, Thank you, Coatie, thank you, thanks 250 00:14:07,320 --> 00:14:08,200 Speaker 1: So much for your time.