The Impact of Tropical Cyclone Olivia on Australia's Northwest Shelf

Tropical cyclone Olivia was the strongest storm of the 1995/96 season on Australia's Northwest Shelf. The storm caused significant damage to oil and gas facilities in the region. A broad spread of metocean measurements is available for this storm, enabling careful calibration of numerical simulations of associated winds, waves and currents. Together with tropical cyclone Orson (1989), this storm has led to a reassessment of metocean design criteria for the region. Introduction Tropical Cyclone Olivia was the most severe storm of the 1995/96 tropical cyclone season on Australia's Northwest Shelf. Wind gusts recorded on Barrow Island are believed to be the strongest ever measured anywhere in the world. Characteristics of the storm which contributed to its severity