Feb. 2 - Cyclone Yasi (day before it hit)
This is a category 5 cyclone, and they don't get any bigger, they are comparing this to Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. It should arrive tonight about 10:00 p.m. The sea level will rise, we'll have severe destructive winds of up to 300 km/hr and hit an area of over 400 km! This is the 3rd cyclone in 5 weeks for Queensland and they are taking this very seriously. Many people have evacuated their homes and hospital patients have been evacuated to Brisbane. Schools have been shut down and most stores were closed by noon today.
We have prepared ourselves and our home. We filled the vehicle with petrol, got cash from the bank, bought batteries for the radio, filled the pantry, filled every container with water, including the tub, taped the windows, secured the yard furniture and tools, and supported the garage doors so they don't blow in. The neighbours and co-workers have been awesome in making sure we are all set to ride this out in our home. We all had a shower, did a load of wash, and are keeping the dishes washed. We've put important documents in water proof baggies and prepared a suitcase in case we need to leave. We've got torches, candles, matches and games ready to go.
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| bracing the garage door - Scott style! |
Now it's just a waiting game. The temperature is around 30 degrees today with some rain off and on. The kids were playing with the neighbours outside and learnt how to play cricket! We've been following the news broadcasts and on line, as this cyclone now has a web site of it's own. The kids are concerned, and rightfully so, but are handling the unknown very well. We did have to discuss a worse case scenario with them and told them what we would have to do. Good night all!
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| sleeping on the floor |
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| all in one room |
Thursday Feb. 3 Back again (day after it hit)
We spent the night together in our bedroom and the power went out at 10:30 pm. It was a noisy night with the winds blowing and things rattling. I didn't sleep much, but the kids did manage to get some sleep. We were up at first day break to see the cyclone's outcome. Amazing! The storm had shifted south of Cairns and the eye of the storm missed us. I guess all those prayers worked and we are all fine. No damage to the house. Most people spent the day cleaning up the debris in their yards and making piles of branches by the streets. When it was safe to do so, we went for a drive to get more fuel for the generator and saw lots of broken trees, broken fences, collapsed car park covers and lots of debris.
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| branches down by playground |
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| tree down around the corner from us |
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| street light should be facing traffic to our left! |
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| debris on side of road |
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| flash floods came after |
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| car park at Redlynch Central where we shop |
Some communities south weren't as lucky! Such devastation around!
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| boats piled up 2 blocks from the beach |
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Bruce Hwy - main road along the coast
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Feb. 4 (second day of no power)
Trying to stay occupied without power! Lots of playing outside, card games, and reading. Used the generator just for the fridge. A full 48 hours without power, so when it finally game on tonight at 10:45 p.m. it was a glorious feeling to have the fans going again!!
I've been amazed at the emotional drain this has played on me...the waiting, the trying to stay strong for the kids, but yet totally scared by the unknown. Even after it was over I still had such raw nerves! A reaction I wasn't expecting, I guess my adrenaline was going none stop during all of this. One thing I do know, I'm glad it's over and we are all okay! Now to get some sleep, relax and thank God!
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| cards by candle lite |
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| the kids and the neighbors keeping themselves entertained |
