On 19 February 1954, a tropical cyclone crossed over Coolangatta. Serious structural damage to buildings occurred in Brisbane, Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast. At Cudgen (NSW north coast), some houses were blown apart and large trees of more than a metre in diameter twisted from the ground. A 0.64m storm surge was recorded in Moreton Bay while at Beachmere the surge was much higher, with boats in the tree tops. Waves at Kirra brought 3 m of water onto the highway washing cars from the road.As a result of the heavy rain, flooding which combined with the storm surge in the Nerang River caused many evacuations in the area including people from MacIntosh Island.