The Australian Weather Bureau has issued a warning that twelve tornadoes are expected to rip through Perth and the south west of Australia this winter. Understandably, insurance companies are extremely concerned about the effect of the tornadoes and experts are already foreseeing damage claims of up to AUS$30million if they were to strike.

The coast from Geraldton to Perth and on to Albany is known as “tornado alley” and industry professionals will be hoping they will not see a repeat of the tornadoes of speed up to 125 km per hour that tore through the country in May 2005. Tornadoes by their very nature are traditionally hard to predict, given the lack of information surrounding them, but previous form has shown that when they hit populated areas the damage can be much more serious.