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AUSTRALIA should brace itself for the worst tropical cyclone season since 1998/1999, a leading catastrophe forecaster warned today.Either five or six tropical storms will hit Australia this season, which lasts from November 1 to April 30, according to a prediction by UK-based Tropical Storm Risk (TSR).The Australia region, which includes nearby islands in the southwest Pacific, is likely to see 13 tropical storms, seven of which will develop into severe tropical cyclones, TSR predicted.TSR is a consortium of weather experts at University College London and the UK's Meteorological Office, backed by insurer Royal & Sun Alliance, reinsurance broker Benfield Group and claims adjuster Crawford & Company.The reason for the higher cyclone activity is La Nina conditions in the tropical Pacific Ocean, pushing sea surface temperatures there to their coldest since 1999, which helps create above-normal tropical storm activity, TSR said.This season will not be as bad as 1998/1999, said TSR, when the region saw 16 tropical storms, 10 of which developed into severe tropical cyclones.Tropical storms can wreak havoc. Tropical Cyclone Larry, which battered northern Queensland in March 2006, left 7000 homeless and 50,000 homes without power.TSR said it has correctly predicted severe tropical cyclone activity for the past seasons.As in the days of Noah...
