1999 Sydney hailstorm
1999 storm in Australia
The 1999 Sydney hailstorm was the costliest natural disaster in the history of Australia. It caused a lot of damage along the east coast of New South Wales. The storm developed south of Sydney on 14 April 1999 and hit the city's eastern suburbs later that day.[1]
 Hailstones dropped during the storm, compared to a cricket ball (7 cm or 2.8 in diameter) | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 14 April 1999, 4:25 pm AEST (UTC+10:00) North of Nowra |
| Dissipated | 14 April 1999, 10:00 pm AEST (UTC+10:00) East of Gosford, offshore |
| Duration | 5 hours, 35 minutes |
| Storm impact | |
| Fatalities | 1 (lightning, off Dolans Bay) |
| Damage | Insured: A$1.7 billion Total: A$2.3 billion (est.) |
| Areas affected | Eastern suburbs, Sydney |
The storm dropped roughly 500,000 tonnes of hailstones.[2][3] Insurance companies had to pay over A$1.7 billion (equivalent to $2.8 billion in 2018) to people who had their property damaged.[4] The total cost, including damage the insurance companies did not have to pay for, is roughly $2.3 billion.[5][6] It was the costliest natural disaster in Australian history in damage paid for by insurance companies. The costliest natural disaster used to be the 1989 Newcastle earthquake. Lightning also killed one person during the storm, and the storm caused roughly 50 injuries.[7][8]
References
changeSources
change- Australian Associated Press (15 April 1999). "Beware shonky tradespeople after hail damage: Watkins".
- Bureau of Meteorology (1999). "NSW Lightning Bolt: Volume 6 Issue 1, May 1999". Bureau of Meteorology, New South Wales Severe Weather Section. Archived from the original on 16 September 2008.
- Bureau of Meteorology (2007). "Severe Thunderstorms: Facts, Warnings and Protection". Archived from the original on 23 February 2002.
- Coenraads, Robert (2006). Natural Disasters And How We Cope. Victoria, Australia: The Five Mile Press. pp. 228–229, 537. ISBN 1-74178-212-0.
- Collings, Anne; Lee, Lynette (2000). "Sydney hailstorms: the health role in the recovery process". The Medical Journal of Australia. 173 (11–12). The Medical Journal of Australia: 173: 579–582. doi:10.5694/j.1326-5377.2000.tb139348.x. PMID 11379494. S2CID 10228836.
- Department of the Environment and Heritage (1999). Bureau of Meteorology Annual Report 1998–99. Commonwealth of Australia.
- Emergency Management Australia (2003). Hazards, disasters and your community (PDF). Canberra, Australia: Emergency Management Australia. pp. 8 September 2007. ISBN 1-921152-01-X. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 March 2009.
- Emergency Management Australia (2 August 2004). "Operations Archive: 14 April 1999 Sydney Hailstorm Damage". Australian Government – Attorney-General's Department.[permanent dead link]
- Emergency Management Australia (13 September 2006). "Sydney, NSW: Severe Hailstorm (incl Lightning)". Australian Government – Attorney-General's Department. Archived from the original on 26 September 2007.
- Geoscience Australia (n.d.). "Sydney hailstorm". Australian Government. Archived from the original on 21 September 2007. Retrieved 8 September 2007.
- Head, Mike (23 April 1999). "Mounting anger over Sydney hailstorm disaster". World Socialist Web Site. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007.
- Henri, Christopher (1999). "The Sydney hailstorm: the insurance perspective" (PDF). Australian Government – Attorney-General's Department. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 February 2008.
- Leigh, Roy (June 1999). "The April 1999 Sydney Hailstorm". National Hazards Quarterly, Macquarie University. Archived from the original on 29 August 2007.
- NSW State Emergency Service (2005). "The largest hailstorm in our history". New South Wales Government. Archived from the original on 10 December 2007.
- Schuster, Sandra; Blong, Russell; Leigh, Roy; McAneney, John (11 August 2005). "Characteristics of 14 April 1999 Sydney hailstorm based on ground observations, weather radar, insurance data and emergency calls" (PDF). Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences.
- Steingold, Malcolm; Walker, George (May 1999). "Sydney Hailstorm 14 April 1999: Impact on Insurance and Reinsurance" (PDF). Aon Re Australia Limited. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 September 2007. Retrieved 8 September 2007.
- Whitaker, Richard (2005). Australia's Natural Disasters. Sydney: Reed New Holland. pp. 97, 99–104. ISBN 1-877069-04-3.
- Wilson, Pip (n.d.). "14 April". Wilsons Almanac. Archived from the original on 27 October 2007.
- Zillman, Dr. John (1999). "Report by the Director of Meteorology on the Bureau of Meteorology's Forecasting and Warning Performance for the Sydney Hailstorm of 14 April 1999". Bureau of Meteorology.
