Larry originated as a low pressure system over the eastern Coral Sea on 16 March 2006, and was monitored by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology in Brisbane, Australia.

Larry made landfall in Far North Queensland close to Innisfail, on 20 March 2006, as a Category 5 tropical cyclone on the Australian scale, with wind gusts reaching 240 kilometres per hour (150 mph), before dissipating over land several days later.

[citation needed] Larry began as a low pressure system over the eastern Coral Sea that was monitored by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology from 16 March 2006.

On the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center's maximum 1-minute wind speed assigned to the cyclone define it as a Category 4-equivalent storm.

[7] At 1 am Australian Eastern Standard Time on 21 March 2006, Larry was downgraded to a Tropical Low pressure system as it moved inland.

Larry's short life as a cyclone is attributed to its speed; the system moved very quickly over the Coral Sea dissipating nearly 24 hours after landfall.

Then-Premier of Queensland, Peter Beattie declared Larry a disaster situation, comparing it to Cyclone Tracy,[11] giving local governments the authority to enforce mandatory evacuations.

A damage survey of buildings in the Innisfail region[4] concluded that the majority of contemporary houses remained structurally intact, though many roller doors were destroyed.

[17] Preliminary reports estimated the cost of loss and damage to domestic and commercial premises is to be in excess of half a billion dollars.

Normally resilient to high wind speeds of previous cyclones the force of Larry stripped several hundred thousand acres of leaves.

many stripped and damaged trees unable to resist a variety of tropical pests caused a second wave of dying to occur in the following months.

[21] The Cowley Beach Training Area near Mourilyan Harbour, 25 kilometres (16 mi) south of Innisfail, was significantly affected by the cyclone, and its use as a base by recovery teams was therefore limited.

The rural fire volunteer task force set up a command post at East Palmerston, which was in place for a number of weeks.

[citation needed] Former Chief of the Defence Force, General Peter Cosgrove, took charge of recovery efforts, and was directing activities from Innisfail by 24 March 2006.

[citation needed] About 150 tradesmen from around Australia arrived in Innisfail around 26 March 2006, and worked to reopen schools and other public buildings, and to make private dwellings habitable.