Queensland preparing for another disaster

[PlainSimpleJoel]

Currently most of North Queensland is preparing for Cyclone Yasi, after the smaller Cyclone Anthony hit NQ earlier in the week. But it's this cyclone that is threatening North Queensland. It is expected to be a category 4 or 5, with winds around 300km/hr.

I know many friends in Townsville, who are preparing. Many are leaving, as this will be bad, and not what Queensland and Australia want right at the moment. It's expected to cross the coast somewhere around Cairns early Thursday morning.

The actually cyclone.

 

[Miss Chicken]

Australia is having a real bad time of it, weather-wise, disaster-wise. I hope that this cyclone is not as bad as it seems it is going to be.

I am quite annoyed at all the complaints people are making about the Flood Levy. Disasters can happen in almost every Australian state and we should all be willing to pay to repair another state's roads, rails and infrastructure when the damage is as massive as has been in the floods. Next time it could be our state in need.

 

[Miss Chicken]

As parts of Victoria is suffering major flooding in another part of the state, East Gippsland, bush fires are threatening homes (one home has already been lost).

Authorities say a house, a machinery shed and a hay shed have been destroyed.
Residents of Tostaree, Bete Bolong, Jarrahmond, Wombat Creek and nearby communities are on alert.
Power has been cut to towns east of the fire and the Princes Highway will be closed between Nowa Nowa and Newmerella overnight.
Country Fire Authority (CFA) spokesman Peter Lucas says the fire is moving rapidly.

Full story

 

[ancientone51]

I've been watching this and keeping all of you in my prayers.

Hold on.

 

[Deranged Nasat]

I wish everyone in the region luck; this must be extremely frustrating, and I hope it doesn't cause too much damage. These appear to be trying months for eastern Australia.

 

[Captain_Nick]

To say nothing of Australia's insurance companies.

I spend most of yesterday holding court to clients based in north Queensland who all of a sudden decided to make sure their insurances are up to date. Too late boys

 

[RJDiogenes]

Bloody Hell, it's just one thing after another. I hope they dodge the bullet with that cyclone. Trying times in the Land Down Under.

 

[PlainSimpleJoel]

They reckon it will hit the coast some time around 10pm, and it's been upgraded to a category 5.

 

[Captain_Nick]

Bloody Hell, it's just one thing after another. I hope they dodge the bullet with that cyclone. Trying times in the Land Down Under.

This is a pretty normal summer for us. The media hysterics are a bit unusual though

 

[T'Bonz]

Ugh. I'm in hurricane country and a cat 4 or cat 5 is some scary shit. Hope it does as little damage as possible.

 

[donners22]

Bloody Hell, it's just one thing after another. I hope they dodge the bullet with that cyclone. Trying times in the Land Down Under.

This is a pretty normal summer for us. The media hysterics are a bit unusual though

Most summers we have flooding that requires around $6 billion to repair infastructure damage, and a category 5 cyclone that's about the size of Asia?

 

[Switch]

A moment of levity:

Three hours till it crosses the coast. Apparently all the evacuation centres are full and people are being turned away.

 

[Miss Chicken]

Bloody Hell, it's just one thing after another. I hope they dodge the bullet with that cyclone. Trying times in the Land Down Under.

This is a pretty normal summer for us. The media hysterics are a bit unusual though

Not a normal summer by any means. I just read that the last time Queensland was hit by a category 5 cyclone was back in 1918 - I think Cyclone Larry (2006) started as a category 5 but by the time it made landfall near Innisfail it was a category 4.

Three hours till it crosses the coast. Apparently all the evacuation centres are full and people are being turned away.

If any of the people who have been turned away die, I think the shit will really hit the fan.

 

[Switch]

For the first time ever I'm going to recommend news.com.au. Latest entry from their liveblog:

9.39pm Powerlines are under threat and Anna Bligh has warned of "a catastrophic failure of essential services". An inland "spine" of transmission towers which has never been through a Category 5 cyclone will be tested; Bligh says if it fails there could be a total failure of power to parts of Northern Queensland

There is also a warning of a second storm surge tomorrow morning about 9.30am local time when the tide rises again. Winds will still be strong and authorities are warning that lives could be put at risk if people venture out in the early morning to inspect damage when the tide is due to surge.

It was a sombre press conference - authorities are asking people to brace for scenes of total devastation tomorrow morning after the storm passes.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-new...it/story-fn7ik2te-1225998711771#ixzz1CnWbLSSh

 

[Captain_Nick]

This is a pretty normal summer for us. The media hysterics are a bit unusual though

Most summers we have flooding that requires around $6 billion to repair infastructure damage, and a category 5 cyclone that's about the size of Asia?

Australia likes to remind her people who's boss.


This cyclone turned out to be a non event. Nobody died, a few homes lost power, and someone had a baby. The media need to be held accountable for whipping everybody up into hysterics.

 

[RJDiogenes]

^^ All I heard was "nobody died."

 

[Miss Chicken]

And what if it had gone the other way? What if the media ignored it and people had died (like they did in Darwin in 1974?).

Maybe the main reason no-one has died this time is because the mass evacuations and the fact that the towns and cities prepared so well. This is a sharp contrast to what happened in Darwin in 1974 (i.e. no evacuations, a city that was unprepared) and 71 people ended up dying that year.

At least 50% of the sugar crop has been destroyed and I believe that the banana crop has been severely affected as well.

 

[Captain_Nick]

It didn't go the other way, probably because they were ready for it and because they built structures strong enough to withstand such storms.

Just how the media hyperbole and the subsequent posteuring on facebook 'WE ARE AUSTRALINS PROUD AND TOUGH U CANT TAKE US DOWN CYCLONES!!' helped anyone remains to be seen.

 

[Miss Chicken]

However it has turned out I don't think it can be called a 'non-event'. Ask the people of Tully if they think that having 90% of the buildings in their town extensively damaged is a non-event.

 

[PlainSimpleJoel]

^^ All I heard was "nobody died."

Yes that is true. I've heard from a few of my friends in Townsville, and they are all okay. There is a lot of damage around the Tully area.