Pam was a very large intense cyclone which passed 500 km to the east of Brisbane. However a 0.68m storm surge was recorded on the Moreton Bay gauge and combined with a king tide, the high tide of 7 Feb on the gauge reached 3.13 m (a record). At Palm Beach residents had to abandon their houses and units as seawater drove over 6.2 metre boulder walls and surged through these premises.