After the devastating floods experienced in southern Queensland a few weeks ago, the poor old girl is now looking at a Category 5 cyclone (hurricane) to hit the northern coast some time tonight.
Cyclone Yasi is predicted to be the most serious cyclone to hit Australia in many decades, and folks in the north-east are madly ‘battening down the hatches’. And the size of the bugger is astounding, with the impact expected to travel as far inland as Mt Isa, 1000km from the coast. :eek:
Hey, I dunno if you remember Pen, but wasn’t there a meteorologist on G’Dope a few years back who was doing a stint on Willis Island?? Do you remember his name by any chance?
I have two sisters, three nieces and three of their children who live in Cairns. As the day goes by, I am getting more and more concerned about their safety. I know that they can shelter above the predicted storm surges, as my eldest sister lives in Manoora, above even the zone 6 line, but how do you shelter from 250 km/h winds?
My parents are in Ayr, and my brother is in Townsville, so luckily a good 500kms or so from where Yasi is predicted to cross the coast.
In terms of surviving the winds, the building guidelines in North Queensland are a lot stricter than further south, in terms of materials used, size, type and number of fasteners, and especially the depth and size of foundations and other support structures.
That being said if Yasi stays as a Category 5, that is still going to cause a lot of destruction, and best wishes for everyone up there, especially for your family KiwiFruit
Kiwi Fruit, I have just received an email from my friend in Cairns (He expects to lose power shortly). The latest update was that it is now heading slightly south which is better news for Cairns. Not great for Townsville or Ayr.
I talked with my sister 3 hours ago, and she is quite optimistic. I hope it’s not misplaced. They have a bathroom in the basement that has no outside windows, just block walls all around. That’s their cyclone bunker.
Latest BOM map shows landfall south of Innisfail, but the track is tending more north than before. I hope it doesn’t decide to head due west; that would take it straight over Cairns.
Sounds good to me Kiwi Fruit…any bunker is better than none at all. Watching the news tonight with those who went through Cyclone Larry and built basements to cope with future events, I’m really confident that THEY will be the ones to survive this catastrophe alive.
Again though, all the best for your family mate. Wishing them a better day tomorrow.
