Operation Yasi Assist was a multi-Service activity by the

Australian Defence Force The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is the military organisation responsible for the defence of the Commonwealth of Australia and its national interests. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Forc ...

(ADF) as part of the response to

Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi Severity or Severely may refer to: * Severity (video game), ''Severity'' (video game), a canceled video game * Severely (song), "Severely" (song), by South Korean band F.T. Island See also

* * {{disambig ...

. Coordinated to aid civilian emergency response efforts, at Federal inter-departmental level it was managed by

Emergency Management Queensland Emergency Management Queensland was the emergency division of the Department of Community Safety. The Queensland Fire and Rescue Service also belonged to the department. It aimed to plan and prepare for disasters as well as rescue and protect p ...

. It comprised units and personnel from the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

(RAN),

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...

, and

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

(RAAF) operating as Joint Task Force 664 (JTF 664). The operation was initially commanded by Brigadier Stuart Smith, based at

Lavarack Barracks Lavarack Barracks is a major Australian Army base located in Townsville, Queensland. Lavarack Barracks is currently home to the Army's 3rd Brigade and 11th Brigade. Elements of the 3rd Brigade based at the Barracks include the Combat Signal ...

Townsville Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...

Activities

JTF 664 was established on 2 February 2011 to command the ADF units responding to the cyclone. The RAAF provided aeromedical evacuations for 255 patients in Cairns Base Hospital and Cairns Private Hospital on the night of 1–2 February. The operation was described by Queensland Premier

Anna Bligh Anna Maria Bligh (born 14 July 1960) is a lobbyist and former Australian politician who served as the 37th Premier of Queensland, in office from 2007 to 2012 as leader of the Labor Party. She was the first woman to hold either position. In 2 ...

as the largest aeromedical evacuation in Australia's history. By 9 February, one week after the cyclone, the ADF had deployed 1,200 personnel to affected regions with another 400 outside those regions providing air transport and aerial survey. An

AP-3C Orion The Lockheed AP-3C Orion is a variant of the P-3 Orion used by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) for tasks such as naval fleet support, maritime surveillance, search and survivor supply and anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare. The 18 A ...

configured for

Defence Imagery and Geospatial Organisation The Australian Geospatial-Intelligence Organisation (AGO) is an Australian government intelligence agency that is part of the Department of Defence responsible for the collection, analysis, and distribution of geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) in ...

aerial survey mapped the damage across a wide area of Queensland. The Army Aviation Corps deployed four S70A-9 Black Hawk, one

CH-47D Chinook The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is a tandem rotor helicopter developed by American rotorcraft company Vertol and manufactured by Boeing Vertol. The Chinook is a heavy-lift helicopter that is among the heaviest lifting Western helicopters. Its name, Ch ...

and three

NH90 The NHIndustries NH90 is a medium-sized, twin-engine, multi-role military helicopter. It was developed in response to NATO requirements for a battlefield helicopter which would also be capable of being operated in naval environments. The NH90 ...

helicopters. Army engineers deployed to coastal towns by

LCM-8 The LCM-8 ("Mike Boat") is a river boat and mechanized landing craft used by the United States Navy and Army during the Vietnam War and subsequent operations. They are currently used by governments and private organizations throughout the world. ...

and

LARC-V LARC-V (Lighter, Amphibious Resupply, Cargo, 5 ton), is an aluminium-hulled amphibious cargo vehicle capable of transporting 5 tons. It was developed in the United States during the 1950s, and is used in a variety of auxiliary roles to this ...

landing craft as roads were blocked by debris. Engineers cleared 230 km of roads in the first week. The hydrographic survey ship HMAS ''Benalla'' surveyed the port of

for submerged debris, allowing the port to reopen three days after the cyclone. The Landing Craft Heavy, HMAS Brunei, under the command of LCDR Carl Jordan, RAN was Force Assigned immediately after the cyclone had made landfall and sailed from Cairns to Townsville to embarked Army engineers and equipment for offload at Mourilyan Harbour in support of Disaster relief operations. The heavy landing ship HMAS ''Tobruk'', in dry dock for major repairs, was rushed back into service to assist in logistic support.

References

{{reflist Yasi Assist 2011 in Australia Military history of Queensland