# Australian Queensland Dopers - Are you ready for the giant cyclone hitting tomorrow? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 19, 2006, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-queensland-dopers-are-you-ready-for-the-giant-cyclone-hitting-tomorrow/349005 "2006-03-19T16:14:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2006, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-queensland-dopers-are-you-ready-for-the-giant-cyclone-hitting-tomorrow/349005/1 "2006-03-19T16:14:20Z")
Are you guys on the coastal areas being affected battened down? [Residents flee as cyclone heads for Australian coast](http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/03/19/060319124159.3z1os73l.html) > [@](#): > > Thousands of residents fled their homes as the worst cyclone to threaten Australia’s Queensland state for decades bore down on the coast. > > Tropical Cyclone Larry was expected to hit the north-eastern state early Monday with wind gusts of up to 280 kilometres (175 mph) an hour and storm surges of up to two metres (6.6 feet), the weather bureau said. ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2006, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-queensland-dopers-are-you-ready-for-the-giant-cyclone-hitting-tomorrow/349005/2 "2006-03-19T16:19:29Z")
There’s a cyclone now? Ah well, hopefully I’m inland enough, and could do with the rain anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2006, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-queensland-dopers-are-you-ready-for-the-giant-cyclone-hitting-tomorrow/349005/3 "2006-03-19T16:20:36Z")
Wait, Cairns and Townsville? Hell yes I’m inland (and southland) far enough. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2006, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-queensland-dopers-are-you-ready-for-the-giant-cyclone-hitting-tomorrow/349005/4 "2006-03-19T16:22:44Z")
And one more post for a trifecta: are there actually any dopers in far north Queensland? I can’t think of any off the top of my head, and tend to notice people that are from closer to home. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2006, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-queensland-dopers-are-you-ready-for-the-giant-cyclone-hitting-tomorrow/349005/5 "2006-03-19T21:21:02Z")
> [@Silentgoldfish](#): > > There’s a cyclone now? Ah well, hopefully I’m inland enough, and could do with the rain anyway. Send it this way. We need the rain too. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2006, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-queensland-dopers-are-you-ready-for-the-giant-cyclone-hitting-tomorrow/349005/6 "2006-03-19T22:13:20Z")
Have you guys ever experienced a 100+ mph storm? I went through a storm that was cat 2 at worst last year, and we’re still recovering. And it came ashore on the other side of the state. I’d wish for more drought, if this is the way to get rain. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2006, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-queensland-dopers-are-you-ready-for-the-giant-cyclone-hitting-tomorrow/349005/7 "2006-03-19T22:53:09Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > Have you guys ever experienced a 100+ mph storm? I went through a storm that was cat 2 at worst last year, and we’re still recovering. And it came ashore on the other side of the state. > > I’d wish for more drought, if this is the way to get rain. I’d wish for rain after the drought we’ve had. And yes, I have been through a number of cyclones- if you live in North Queensland long enough you are bound to experience one or more. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2006, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-queensland-dopers-are-you-ready-for-the-giant-cyclone-hitting-tomorrow/349005/8 "2006-03-19T23:02:47Z")
Holy shit, the winds are gusting to 280 kph with a 2 metre surge. That’s not yer average storm. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2006, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-queensland-dopers-are-you-ready-for-the-giant-cyclone-hitting-tomorrow/349005/9 "2006-03-19T23:12:31Z")
Blimey, it’s as big as Katrina and just [made landfall](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4823580.stm). ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-queensland-dopers-are-you-ready-for-the-giant-cyclone-hitting-tomorrow/349005/10 "2006-03-20T00:18:57Z")
> [@Silentgoldfish](#): > > And one more post for a trifecta: are there actually any dopers in far north Queensland? I can’t think of any off the top of my head, and tend to notice people that are from closer to home. I can’t remember any Dopers being from northern Queensland. And those in the south of the state aren’t likely to be inconvenienced very much by this cyclone. It’s worth pointing out to the OP, and to others who are used to American or European geography, just how large Australian states are. Queensland is about 10% larger than Alaska, almost 3 times the size of Texas, and about 20 times the size of Ireland. **Silentgoldfish** , in Brisbane, is about 1,000 miles away from Innisfail, where the cyclone made landfall. That’s about the distance from Miami to Baltimore. ---
**Author:** ![Nic2004](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/4491bb/32.png) [@Nic2004](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nic2004)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-queensland-dopers-are-you-ready-for-the-giant-cyclone-hitting-tomorrow/349005/11 "2006-03-20T01:22:55Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > I can’t remember any Dopers being from northern Queensland. And those in the south of the state aren’t likely to be inconvenienced very much by this cyclone. > > It’s worth pointing out to the OP, and to others who are used to American or European geography, just how large Australian states are. Queensland is about 10% larger than Alaska, almost 3 times the size of Texas, and about 20 times the size of Ireland. > > **Silentgoldfish** , in Brisbane, is about 1,000 miles away from Innisfail, where the cyclone made landfall. That’s about the distance from Miami to Baltimore. I hope all are well in the areas mentioned. I must admit my ignorance. I didn’t really grasp the scale of the areas you have listed here, much to my embarrassment. Consider a victory against ignorance. Thanks ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-queensland-dopers-are-you-ready-for-the-giant-cyclone-hitting-tomorrow/349005/12 "2006-03-20T02:00:01Z")
Yeah, I’m also glad to hear about the scales. Good luck to you guys, regardless. ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-queensland-dopers-are-you-ready-for-the-giant-cyclone-hitting-tomorrow/349005/13 "2006-03-20T02:27:02Z")
Beautiful sunny day today, and no rain predicted for the rest of the week. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-queensland-dopers-are-you-ready-for-the-giant-cyclone-hitting-tomorrow/349005/14 "2006-03-20T03:32:28Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > I can’t remember any Dopers being from northern Queensland. And those in the south of the state aren’t likely to be inconvenienced very much by this cyclone. > > It’s worth pointing out to the OP, and to others who are used to American or European geography, just how large Australian states are. Queensland is about 10% larger than Alaska, almost 3 times the size of Texas, and about 20 times the size of Ireland. > > **Silentgoldfish** , in Brisbane, is about 1,000 miles away from Innisfail, where the cyclone made landfall. That’s about the distance from Miami to Baltimore. Freaky. It’s like they live on Niven’s Ringworld or something. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-queensland-dopers-are-you-ready-for-the-giant-cyclone-hitting-tomorrow/349005/15 "2006-03-20T04:02:34Z")
The cyclone has moved inland now and has been downgraded to a category three. [Link](http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/cyclone-downgraded-as-it-heads-west/2006/03/20/1142703257234.html) ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-queensland-dopers-are-you-ready-for-the-giant-cyclone-hitting-tomorrow/349005/16 "2006-03-20T04:57:46Z")
Just about this time last year, I was in the region that the cyclone is hitting. On holiday of course, but it was absolutely grouse and I fantasised about living there permanently. Not now. My prayers and good wishes are with the people of North Qld, regardless of whether the cyclone is rated at a 2 or 4 or 5 or whatever. Take care folks. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-queensland-dopers-are-you-ready-for-the-giant-cyclone-hitting-tomorrow/349005/17 "2006-03-20T05:07:42Z")
> [@kambuckta](#): > > Just about this time last year, I was in the region that the cyclone is hitting. On holiday of course, but it was absolutely grouse and I fantasised about living there permanently Grouse? I’ve never heard that word before. I looked it up in the dictionary and it’s not in there (as an adjective. There is an entry for it as a noun/verb as “complaint/complain” and another for a type of bird). I take it it’s something you Aussies say? ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-queensland-dopers-are-you-ready-for-the-giant-cyclone-hitting-tomorrow/349005/18 "2006-03-20T05:11:34Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Grouse? I’ve never heard that word before. I looked it up in the dictionary and it’s not in there (as an adjective. There is an entry for it as a noun/verb as “complaint/complain” and another for a type of bird). > > I take it it’s something you Aussies say? It means great, fantastic. [Link](http://www.koalanet.com.au/australian-slang.html#G) ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-queensland-dopers-are-you-ready-for-the-giant-cyclone-hitting-tomorrow/349005/19 "2006-03-20T05:26:15Z")
Ah, humble apologies for my use of the _Bogan Australianism_ (Grouse) when I should have said \ ***triffic**!! \* 😃 Still, watching the news just now, the cyclone has done some massive damage to communities in the north. I wish them ‘grouse’ tidings. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-queensland-dopers-are-you-ready-for-the-giant-cyclone-hitting-tomorrow/349005/20 "2006-03-20T14:36:32Z")
I was going to say, the Cyclone is over 1,000kms from where I am, but I would not want to be anywhere north of, say, Bundaberg about now… (anyone else got an amusing image of the Bundy Bear getting hit by a flying Palm Tree whilst trying to flog Bundy Rum to Cyclone Survivors? 😃 ) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-queensland-dopers-are-you-ready-for-the-giant-cyclone-hitting-tomorrow/349005.md?page=2)