Standing in the eye of Cyclone Tracy on Christmas Eve 1974, Geoff Carter was overcome by a surreal feeling of tranquillity.
"I stood in the eerie silence, looked up at the sky, and thought, 'how fantastic was that'. We were covered with Christmas tinsel," he said.
"Then I looked again, and realised it was roofing iron suspended above the city, ready to descend upon us in the even more ferocious second half of Tracy."
On the 40th anniversary of the storm, he said his family came through all right, even though they lost everything.
"We heard of people being stripped naked and left hanging from the rafters of their house," he told AAP.
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"Our vehicle looked like a salt and pepper shaker, filled with holes from the metal and debris being hurled at it. It looked like Al Capone had been at the bloody thing."
With the passing of time, survivors were opening up more and sharing their stories for this anniversary, he said.
In the Darwin CBD, about 150 people gathered for a dimming of the lights ceremony at the city Christmas tree, dedicated to the memory of the 66 people killed during the storm.
"Forty years ago tonight, Cyclone Tracy devastated Darwin. It swept into the harbour, tossing ships about, and then made its way inland, creating a path of destruction through streets and suburbs, leaving shattered Christmas dreams and worse in its wake," Lord Mayor Katrina Fong Lim said.
"The casualty list was great. Individuals were hurt and scarred by glass shards and flying metal sheets. They were in fear and traumatised, separated from loved ones, and in shock."
But in the aftermath ,the country pulled together in support, Ms Fong Lim said.
"In the wake of that terrifying storm, the entire nation reached out and helped a community rebuild itself, its homes, its schools, its businesses."
She said Darwin had flourished over the past four decades, and although time healed, it couldn't compensate for the profound loss and pain many in the community still felt.
"I'm sure many people take great comfort from the knowledge that the entire community shares in remembering those who perished, and extend their thoughts and compassion to those who lost loved ones," Ms Fong Lim said.
As the lights on the tree were dimmed, 66 community members held candles representing those who died.
On Friday a commemorative plaque at Christ Church Cathedral will be unveiled in their memory.
