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Cyclone Debbie


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We are currently looking down the barrel of a Category 4 (wind gusts up to 260 km/hr) cyclone hitting here in the next few days.

 

Current tracking map has the centre going about 30-40 km south of our place (we are 20km south of Townsville) early Tuesday morning.

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The more south it goes, the lesser the effects will be. Townsville desperately needs the rain that comes with a cyclone, but not the damage.

 

We are fairly well prepped, with always having non perishable food supplies, first aid, torches and batteries,radio and important documents are in an easy to get place if we needed to evacuate. Ran the generator for an hour the other arvo and have 100L of fuel spare, and we have a generator change over switch on the house, so at least the fridges can run, and you can use the ceiling fans. With Cyclone Yasi (we cleared out) we had no power for 11 days, and we came home for the last 2 of those days, sleeping in 30 degree nights with 95% humidity and no breeze and no ceiling fans or air con was very ordinary.

 

Everything outside has been put away pretty much, just need to sort out the trampoline. The car will be backed up to the roller door with a mattress behind it - this stops the roller door popping in, but obviously not out.

 

Yesterday was crazy - the council put a free dump day on, we took a load at 7:30 in the morning and there was a 5 min wait. We drove past later in the arvo, and there was a line over 1km long to get into the dump! I saw videos on Facebook of longer lines at the other dump on the north side of town!! Apparently UHT milk and bread was cleared out from the shops on Friday, we went to top up with chook food, it was sold out yesterday.

 

We shut down work tomorrow (and likely Tuesday), as our policy is if we are in the Cyclone warning zone, everyone stays home (i work in Ayr) - not looking good for the sugarcane crop as it will get flattened by the winds.

 

Yesterday was pure blue skies and hardly a breath of wind, today is light cloud cover and some gusts of wind coming in, but nothing too spectacular. Its kind of eerie knowing that possibly there will be a huge storm here in 36 hours or so!

 

Anyway, just thought i'd put this thread up, hopefully there won't be any damage or too many before and after photos. Hope everyone up this way stays safe and is well prepared.

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Hope it doesn't hit and if it does not too hard. I was there in 74 when Townsville got flattened by Althea. 11 years old on holidays with the family and it hit Christmas Eve.

Anyway it sounds like you are well prepared. Hope all goes well.

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I'm up in Cairns at the moment. Couldn't cancel as everything had been paid for. So far so good but I have to fly home on tuesday so will interesting watching flight status. Hope all stays good for you Rob. They keep changing their minds on severity which is annoying.

 

Brad

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Looking better for us as its now tracking south. Feel for those guys around whitsundays. Its a bit breezy here and been doing thr final tidy up and checking on neighbours. See what tonight and the morning brings. Might even look at throwing some decals on Monster Bash later on!

 

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have they raised that main bit of highway at ayr yet..the section beside the railway line that always goes under water..

Not on the south side entrance to Ayr, but they put an overpass over the sugar loco line a few km north of Ayr which has helped with some flooding issues as well.

 

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Not on the south side entrance to Ayr, but they put an overpass over the sugar loco line a few km north of Ayr which has helped with some flooding issues as well.

 

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i was stuck at rollingstone for 5 days in the pub there on one trip..little italy (ingham )was flooded..finaly got the shits with it all ,and turned around to come home and got stuck at ayr for another day..now i know why they call it the FNQ..LOL

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A couple of tech screws through the roller door guides and through the curtain. Cheap wind locks.

 

Good luck mate. Prey it misses and keep the family close.

 

Seems strange waiting for what may happen. We have had 5 bushfires come straight at our house over the years and I know what it is like beening one of only a handful of people left in the suburb waiting for what may happen.

 

For you it is food and power you need to supply. For me it was buckets of water, wet towels and thick fireproof clothing.

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This may sound very selfish or weird, and I really hope that no one gets hurt, or property damaged, but I would love to experience a storm like this first hand. The worst weather we get in SA is a bake in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius.

 

I just have to clarify that in no way to I want anyone to lose anything, or get hurt. Just the power of the storm fascinates me:)

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we hope all goes well for you rob, and family.. i have seen what these buggers can do, and wouldnt wish them on anybody anywhere..just remember...its pins first ,then women and children to saftey..keep AA posted..stay safe
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All good as it looks like we wont get much of the damaging effects at this stage. Really unusual sky this evening an orange glow i hadn't seen before. Doesn't really show it from the pic below but it does somewhat.

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Its been pretty gusty here for the last couple of hours but nothing too serious. Winds gust up to 30km/hr for a bit then drop off. If we get anything i suspect it will be tomorrow morning. In case something came in tonight we have the pet bird cats and dog inside so they don't do a runner. Other than that, time to play some pinball! Number 3 is keen to have a bash on Spidey!

 

ef6ac54d80acc6a9f06e8c82c3331b11.jpg

 

Very thankful it looks like not hitting us front on, but i understand the comment about experiencing a storm. Part of me would like a cat 1 or cat 2 cyclone to experince the storm but not the damage!

 

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- - - Updated - - -

 

One thing that is awesome, is the Bureau of Meterology updates - people love to bad Govt departments, but they are now giving updated advice every hour, and renewing tracking maps, so anyone with internet access can know what is going on. You can also sign up for SMS and email alerts that provide info on dangerous storms etc.

 

The current map looks like our place will be in the zone that is higher than 'gale force winds' but lower than 'very destructive winds', but things can change, we might get nothing, or it could go a bit north and we get a fair bit of wind. Its now a Category 4, and still has another 12 hours before it reaches landfall, which means it could go to Category 5 (highest rating in Australia), really feel for those in Bowen - as its very slow moving so damage could be very nasty.

 

debbie.jpg.e7bea1e5f5f2222f81b7cbef15611c55.jpg

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Yes, the "circus experience" I call that where all the media are about, cops everywhere, fire trucks and then the roads get cut off to stop the site seers but the sky is still full of choppers.

 

Once the roads are blocked and everyone leaves, it is like the charm before the storm. A very strange, earry feeling where you start second guessing yourself whether you should have left or not and then all hell breaks loose and from that time on, your to busy to do much thinking.

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Stay safe all you guys up north of Brissie.

 

I'm dreading working in the rain that will no doubt head our way - but bugger me, I'm a hell of a lot safer than what some of you AA'ers in northern Qld may cop.

 

- - - Updated - - -

 

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Great pic - there is an arcade game or two I want to try and mini-marathon - those pants are similar to what I want to buy so that I can go to the toilet without making a mess on the floor :)

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Probably should make a new topic for this post in the Soap Box forum... but whatever.

 

Rolling coverage on TV all day over the cyclone. What is the deal with the rolling coverage showing the misery of people who are losing everything in this storm? I guess if you have loved ones and family up that way like I do it's good to know that they are safe. So I'll give the networks a bit of credit for that.

 

Having said that - I'm completely mystified as to why Channel 9 and all the other networks have their reporters standing outside in the pouring rain and 100 km/hr wind gusts getting soaked and nearly blown over to film their reports. We get it, it's a cyclone, we don't need to see reporters soaking wet to know they are reporting live during a cyclone. It doesn't make me watch a station more because a reporter is soaked to the bones and risking their life to film a bloody TV spot. Morons.

 

Hope everyone up that way, including the non-AA'ers are doing okay so far. Queenslanders in particular, if not the majority of Australia will help you guys out who are in need after this ends.

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Pretty devastating for the people south of us who got absolutely hammered. On some local forums seeing pictures of houses and commercial buildings with roofs completely torn off, also of houses with trees through them. I will also be talking to my counterparts in the Mackay and Proserpine sugar industry areas later this week, as they will have likely very significant crop damage costing huge amounts of money.

 

I did see some data from Hamilton Island showing the average wind speed for 16 hour period was 142km/hr!

 

We got some good gusts at times, and a few branches/plants blow away, so were really lucky that it did not come our way as originally forecast. I just hope it doesn't make people complacent, and next time a cyclone warning is issued they don't take appropriate measures. Not to take away from the severity of the event, or catsrophic losses that people have had, but here is a classic Aussie interview....

 

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I never watch commercial TV news - its just so bloated and full of pending doom.. But at 6 this morning I quickly flick and hear 'Koshie' say, massive destruction, terrible injuries and possible deaths.. WTF.. Possible deaths.? There is or there isn't, just report the news ffs.. This type of journalism make me very cranky.! I need my coffee..

 

edit - I think Kev in the interview above feels much the same way.. **** off with you attention grabbing headlines and let the people deal with it, their way.

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lol yes D

what he was referring to as written on the fence was "**** off koshie".

parasitic bloody media. possible deaths? yeah koshie if he shows his ugly mug in a bowen pub :-)

 

i reckon they might get the message and report the next one from the harbour bridge ;-)

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