Overall Green alert Tropical Cyclone for VERONICA-19
in Australia

Event summary

Tropical Cyclone VERONICA-19 can have a low humanitarian impact based on the maximum sustained wind speed, exposed population and vulnerability.

GDACS ID TC 1000556
Name VERONICA-19
From - To 19 Mar - 26 Mar
Exposed countries Australia
Exposed population 4 thousand in Category 1 or higher
Maximum wind speed 259 km/h Category 5
Maximum storm surge 0.8 m (25 Mar 16:00 UTC)
Vulnerability Low (Australia)

GDACS Score

For more info on GDACS alert score click here.
Wind Storm surge Rainfall GDACS score
GDACS JTWC 65 km/h 0.8 m n.a. 0.5
Single TC: maximum expected impact (wind, storm surge, rainfall)
HWRF 223 km/h 2.6 m n.a. 0.5
GFS 202 km/h 2.2 m 1279 mm 0.5
ECMWF 180 km/h 1.7 m 1231 mm 0.5
Maximum expected impact (wind, storm surge and rainfall) using different data sources.
Virtual OSOCC
Meteo assessment
Satellite products
Analytical products
Australia - Tropical Cyclone VERONICA UPDATE (ECHO 26 Mar 2019)Tue, 26 Mar 2019 11:00

  • Tropical Cyclone VERONICA continued moving west-southwest over the eastern Indian Ocean, along the coast of Pilbara Region (northern Western Australia), weakening. On 26 March at 0.00, its center was located approx. 50 km north-west of Mardie and approx. 90 km north-east of Onslow, with maximum sustained winds of 65 km/h. 
  • Over the next 24 hours, VERONICA is forecast to continue moving south-west along the coast, further weakening and dissipating.
  • Heavy rainfall and thunderstorms are forecast over western Pilbara Region on 25-27 March.
  • The European Commission's Copernicus Emergency Management Service () was activated for both VERONICA and TREVOR Tropical Cyclones on 23 March.
Australia - Tropical Cyclones VERONICA and TREVOR UPDATE (ECHO 25 Mar 2019)Mon, 25 Mar 2019 11:06

  • Tropical Cyclone VERONICA weakened as it neared the coast of Pilbara Region (northern Western Australia). On 25 March at 0.00 UTC, its centre was located approximately 40 km north-east of Wickham village and 70 km north-east of Karratha, with maximum sustained winds of 83 km/h.
  • As of 25 March at 8.00 UTC, there are no reports of injuries but damage assessment is still ongoing.
  • VERONICA is forecast to continue west-southwest and could make landfall close to Wickham on 25 March, with maximum sustained winds of 75-80 km/h.
  • Heavy rainfall, strong winds and storm surge could affect the Pilbara Region coastal and inland areas on 25-26 March.
  • As of 25 March, a Warning Zone for Gales for the coast and the adjacent inland area of Pilbara Region between Whim Creek and Mardie for the next 24 hours.
  • The European Commission's Copernicus Emergency Management Service was activated for tropical cyclones, VERONICA and TREVOR, on 23 March and one delineation map has been produced for the Port Hedland area.
Australia - Tropical Cyclone VERONICA Update (ECHO 22 Mar 2019)Fri, 22 Mar 2019 11:08

  • Tropical Cyclone VERONICA continued moving south-southwest over the eastern Indian Ocean, off the coast of northern Western Australia, slighty weakening. On 22 March at 0.00, its center was located approx. 345 km north-west of Port Hedland and approx. 330 km north of Karratha (Pilbara Region, Western Australia), with maximum sustained winds of 204 km/h.
  • Over the next 48 hours, VERONICA is forecast to continue moving south over the Ocean and it could approach the coastal area of Pilbara Region between Port Hedland and Karratha on 24 March very early in the morning (UTC), with maximum sustained winds of 130 km/h.
  • Heavy rainfall, strong winds and storm surge could affect the Pilbara Region coast on 22-24 March.
  • The Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) has issued, as of 22 March, a Warning Zone for Gales over the coastal area of Pilbara Region between Wallal Downs and Mardie for the next 24 hours.
Australia - Tropical Cyclone VERONICA UPDATE (ECHO 21 Mar 2019)Thu, 21 Mar 2019 11:01

  • Tropical Cyclone VERONICA continued south-west off the coast of northern Western Australia, streghtening. On 21 March at 0.00, its centre was located approximately 435 km north of Port Hedland and approximately 475 km north-northeast of Karratha with maximum sustained winds of 230 km/h.
  • VERONICA is forecast to continue south before approaching the coast of Pilbara Region on 24 March, with maximum sustained winds of 150-160 km/h.
  • Heavy rainfall, strong winds and storm surge could affect the area between 21-23 March.
  • A Watch Zone is in effect for Gales over the coast of Pilbara Regio, between Pardoo and Mardie, for the next 48 hours.
Australia - Tropical Cyclone VERONICA (ECHO 20 Mar 2019)Wed, 20 Mar 2019 11:02

  • Tropical Cyclone VERONICA, formed over Timor Sea on 18 March, moving south-west towards the Kimberley coast (north Western Australia).
  • On 20 March at 0.00, its centre was located approximately 440 km north-west of Broome (Kimberley region, Western Australia), with maximum sustained winds up to 93 km/h.
  • Over the next 72 hours, it is set to continue south-west strengthening.
Detailed event map. European Union, 2024. Map produced by EC-JRC.
The boundaries and the names shown on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the European Union.

Updates on volcanic activity (Smithsonian)

Latest media headlines

Articles: 42 | About casualties: 1 | Last hour: 0

Small Island Damaged By Second Cyclone This YearThu, 28 Mar 2019 20:55:00 +0100.

It's been a busy year so far for cyclones in the Southern Hemisphere. Australia has been hit by two major storms this March, and Veronica , that suspended dry bulk shipping around the northern coasts of the country. The world's two largest
...(more)
Weatherwatch: cyclones batter southern hemisphereWed, 27 Mar 2019 22:57:00 +0100.

T ropical Cyclone Idai caused catastrophic flooding across Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi last week, with an estimated death toll of 700 people. With the equivalent force of a category 3 hurricane, Idai made its second landfall on 14 March
...(more)
Satellite finds Tropical Cyclone Veronica's stripped center along Aust ... Tue, 26 Mar 2019 18:35:00 +0100.

IMAGE: NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite passed over the Southern Indian Ocean and captured a visible image of a rapidly dissipating Tropical Cyclone Veronica on March 26, along the coast of Western... Credit: NASA Worldview, Earth Observing
...(more)
Cyclone baby boom strikes as storm bears downTue, 26 Mar 2019 03:17:00 +0100.

Around 5pm on Sunday evening, at the peak of Cyclone Veronica's impact, heavily pregnant Francis Starr was transported via ambulance to Hedland Health Campus. Ms Starr had a healthy baby girl called Veronica. Amanda McKinley, clinical midwi
...(more)

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Estimated casualties (PAGER)

USGS estimates the number of casualties for each earthquake for the Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response (PAGER) product.
The graph shows the current fatalities estimate.

Exposed population

Data, images, links, services and documents

For this events, GDACS has links to information from the following sources: EC-JRC (38), (2), WMO (1), INFORM (2),