Typhoon Neoguri and Cyclone Monica

In the case of Neoguri, the islands of Japan including Okinawa had deep coastal approaches, and although storm surge occurred, coastal flooding was limited and most impacts were produced by wind damage and heavy rainfall that promoted landslides on steep terrains in the volcanic-cored islands. In addition, although wave heights were significant, offshore reefs and inshore constructed shoreline projects helped to reduce the overall impact of the storm. In the case of Sunset Beach (shown once again in Figure 5.16), damage was also not as severe because the community was located on the leeward (west-facing) side of the island and was protected from the strongest wind field and wave action that would have hit the southern and eastern ends of the island of Okinawa.

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Figure 5.16: View to the northwest of Sunset Beach area as Typhoon Neoguri moved to the north of the island. Muddy water in the foreground is from upland stream erosion from heavy rainfall. In the background, high waves are still crashing on the shoreline where rock revetments and breakwaters take the brunt of the energy from the high waves.
Credit: Katona Miller

Similarly, in the case of Cyclone Monica (Northern Territory of Australia), deep water approaches along the eastern coast of Australia near the Great Barrier Reef likely helped keep the storm surge factor from being significantly more impactful. Nevertheless, as the leading edge of the clockwise rotating cyclone crossed the much shallower Bay of Carpentaria, hurricane force winds likely helped to generate stronger surges around the enclosed basin especially in the vicinity of Groote Eylandt where a number of previous cyclones were incredibly damaging and destructive. During your exploration, you may have noticed that the area lacks barrier islands, and, in most cases, has relatively few reefs and relatively few mangrove forests along the coastline. In this setting, without the protection of offshore barriers, wind damage is incredibly destructive, and, during Monica, mainland areas and many pristine woodland habitats were devastated.