The day a monster named Marcia destroyed Qld homes

Ten years ago Severe Tropical Cyclone Marcia turned towards the Queensland coastline as a monster category 5 storm. What unfolded was truly terrifying for hundreds of residents. SEE THE PICTURES

Karen Johnson and her partner Rob will never forget the day Cyclone Marcia tore their 150 year old home apart.

Tens years ago Severe Tropical Cyclone Marcia turned towards the Queensland coastline as a monster category 5 storm.

It had intensified rapidly near the coastline with winds of 205km/h at its centre and wind gusts of 285km/h and was on a direct line to impact Yeppoon and Rockhampton districts.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk issued a dire warning to residents.

“Over the next few hours many thousands of Queenslanders are about to go through a very harrowing and terrifying experiences,” she said on an emergency television broadcast.

“This is extremely serious. Can I please say to all of our residents in Yeppoon and the Rockhampton region your safety is now paramount. We want you to stay in your homes … do not go outside under any circumstances.”

Police Commissioner Ian Stewart said the cyclone would be a ‘calamity’ and people had to look after themselves.

This BOM map shows the path of Cyclone Marcia and its category levels as it swept across the region.

“This is going to be a calamity there is no doubt about that,” he said.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk in Yeppoon with SES Cindal Shackleton while touring the disaster zone after Cyclone Marcia passed through the day before. Pictures: Jack Tran / The Courier Mail

“We’ve done as much as we can, now it’s up to everyone to look after their friends and family and themselves.”

Pic gallery: Looking back 10 years to Cyclone Marcia

VIEW GALLERY

As tens of thousands of people took shelter the storm crossed the coastline and quickly reduced to category 4, according to the Bureau of Meteorology report, causing major damage to the Byfield area and surrounding pine forest plantations.

Damage in the Rockhampton CBD area caused by Tropical Cyclone Marcia. Photo Allan Reinikka / The Morning Bulletin

Yeppoon also received serious damage to hundreds of houses and buildings with the BOM report saying the automatic weather station recording a maximum sustained wind speed (10 minute average) of 65 knots (120 km/h), or the equivalent of a category 3 system, as the category 4 centre of Marcia passed to the west.

The eye of Marcia passed over Rockhampton with BOM analysis of radar imagery indicating the strongest part of the eye wall missed the automatic weather station while parts of Rockhampton experienced winds of high-end category 2 strength with major damage to hundreds of homes and buildings.

The Morning Bulletin's coverage of Cyclone Marcia.

Marcia then turned to the south-southeast and impacted Biloela early that evening, where wind gusts to 85 km/h were recorded.

Marcia was downgraded to a tropical low at 2am Saturday 21 February, located to the south of Monto then tracked further southeast during and crossed the Sunshine Coast back out to sea at 3pm.

Incredibly no deaths were recorded.

Then the clean-up started in sweltering conditions with power lost to almost all of the Yeppoon and Rockhampton districts.

As we look back on the Cyclone Marcia experience today no one who experienced it will easily forget that day and the following weeks and months as we recall the terrifying storm and the long period of rebuilding and repair.

Originally published as The day a monster named Marcia destroyed Qld homes