What impact did Tropical Cyclone Hamish have on the southern Gold Coast beaches?
• Very little erosion was observed on the southern Gold Coast or the Tweed Coast beaches as a result of Tropical Cyclone Hamish, even though beach erosion was seen on the Sunshine Coast and beaches to the north of Noosa, which were much closer to the cyclonic cell. • See graph of Kirra beach widths before and after Tropical Cyclone Hamish • Tropical Cyclone Hamish did not travel far enough south for the Gold Coast to feel its full effects. Winds and waves generated by the cyclone had weakened significantly by the time they reached the southern Gold Coast beaches, and local wave heights only increased for about two days. • The maximum wave height recorded on 11 March was 5.9 m, and the maximum significant wave height* recorded that day on was only about 3.8 m. A storm with waves of this size may hit the Gold Coast several times a year, so it was not a major storm or an unusual event. • Given the direction of the swell, had the storm’s duration been longer and had its waves on the Gold C
