Cyclone Orson was the fourth most intense cyclone in the Australian
region on record. Forming out of a tropical low on April 17, 1989,
Orson gradually intensified as it tracked towards the west. After
attaining Category 5 intensity on April 20, the storm began to track
southward and accelerated. The following day, the cyclone reached its
peak intensity with winds of 250 km/h (155 mph, 10-minute sustained)
and a barometric pressure of 904 hPa (mbar). Orson maintained this
intensity for nearly two days before making landfall near Dampier. The
cyclone rapidly weakened after landfall as it accelerated to the
southeast. After moving into the Great Australian Bight on April 24,
the storm dissipated. Despite Orson's extreme intensity, damage was
relatively minimal as it impacted a sparsely populated region of
Western Australia. Five people were killed offshore and damages
amounted to A$20 million (US$16.8 million). The most severe impacts
took place in Pannawonica, where 70 homes were damaged. Due to the
severity of the storm, the name Orson was retired in 1990 and later
replaced by Olga.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclone_Orson>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1792:
The epoch of the French Republican Calendar occurred, marking the first
full day of the newly proclaimed French First Republic.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Republican_Calendar>
1827:
According to his own record of his early life, Latter Day Saint
movement founder Joseph Smith, Jr. obtained the golden plates, a set of
engraved plates that he said was his source material for the Book of
Mormon.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/golden_plates>
1862:
Slavery in the United States: President Abraham Lincoln issued the
Emancipation Proclamation, declaring the freedom of all slaves in
Confederate territory by January 1, 1863.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emancipation_Proclamation>
1869:
Das Rheingold, the first of four operas in Der Ring des Nibelungen by
German composer Richard Wagner, was first performed in Munich.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Das_Rheingold>
1979:
The Vela Incident: An American Vela satellite detected an unidentified
flash of light, thought to be a nuclear weapons test.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vela_Incident>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
abrogate (v):
1. To annul by an authoritative act; to abolish by the authority of the
maker or his successor; to repeal.
2. To put an end to; to do away with
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/abrogate>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Wear your learning, like your watch, in a private pocket: and do not
pull it out and strike it, merely to show that you have one.
--Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Philip_Stanhope%2C_4th_Earl_of_Chesterfield>
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