General Chat

Thank you Tony


as you say, the ground is now so hard that there is no way for all the rain to sink into it.


In 2006, my friend in Mudgee said they had not had rain for 8 years.

Some of those places are wonderful aren't they Sylvia. I think I have been to nearly everyone of them.
I see the flood reports have included Benalla and Myrtleford, that's a fair stretch from Echuca across to Myrtleford.

We just couldn't believe it when we heard that Echuca was flooded.

I was worried when I saw Kyneton on the list - we stopped at a delightful antique place which is downstairs below street level.

Bonnie Doon was bone dry when we were there. It is just so hard to comprehend that this has all happened so quickly.

Take care Tony

Persie

Been thinking of all in places that are flooded, and hope there will be no more lives lost.

So much else on tv news that this situation gets shoved off the page.

Lizx

Persie

yes, there are some wonderful places on that list

We were at Hall's Gap in 2006 on the way from Bendigo to Adelaide ..... and were absolutely amazed at how the gum trees regenerate after a major fire


Just been reading reports in the Melbourne Age on-line



sylvia

Same year I was at Halls Gap.

We went from Melbourne to Adelaide in 2007 and saw a lot of where there had been fires. The most boring stretch of road was going from Mt Gambier up through Naracoorte - where we saw the caves - and then that really awful stretch through to the Murray Bridge.

We have been following all flood reports - we are so fond of the places it really saddens us to see the devastation.

Persie

No repreive for Queensland.

Cyclone Anthony hits Queensland.

Second cyclone "YASI" to arrive on Thursday, and its massive.

"Estimated to hit landfall between 10:0pm and Midnight " - Wednesday evening.

Satellite View:
http://www.goes.noaa.gov/sohemi/sohemiloops/shirgmscol.html



The last cyclone of that magnitude to hit Queensland was category four Cyclone Larry.
Larry left a trail of destruction including damage to 10,000 homes and a repair bill of more than a billion dollars.

Up to 10,000 homes without power.

"YASI" to arrive on Thursday.

This severe cyclone expected to hit Queensland on Thursday is likely to rival, and on some measures, dwarf Cyclone Larry, which devastated parts of north Queensland.

Bureau senior forecaster Ann Farrell said the latest modelling suggested Yasi would make landfall somewhere between Innisfail, in the north, and Proserpine, in the south.

If it hits as a category three, wind gusts up to 200km/h can be expected, and 250km/h if it builds to a four, as Cyclone Larry was when it devastated Innisfail and surrounding communities in March 2006.

"By that stage we will be looking at a severe tropical cyclone so certainly at least a (category) three, and a category four we wouldn't be ruling that out by any means." Ms Farrell told AAP.


Latest reports say Cyclone Yasi has now been upgraded to category 5.

Unlike Anthony, which weakened into a low pressure system after crossing land, Yasi is expected to menace Queensland as a strong cyclone even after crossing the coast, the Courier Mail reports.

Queensland's Bureau of Meteorology says it's likely to cross the north coast either on Wednesday night or Thursday morning.

The bureau's senior forecaster Gordon Banks said Yasi would be big and intense, bringing destructive winds and heavy rain across the state.

He said like January's devastating floods, Yasi will most likely be a state event.

"It's going to affect a much larger area (than ex-cyclone Anthony) both with rainfall and wind and because of its size and strength, it's likely to persist as a cyclone even after it crosses land," Mr Banks told ABC Radio.

"It's developing strongly near Vanuatu and we don't expect it to lose too much strength as it moves towards the coast," Mr Banks said.

"If it is as strong as the models suggest, category three or better, heavy rain could potentially affect the interior on Friday, Saturday and Sunday."

Meanwhile the cleanup is on after cyclone Anthony hit parts of the Queensland coast.

Fallen branches and other debris littered Bowen's CBD this morning but the north Queensland coastal town appears to have endured the destructive winds of Tropical Cyclone Anthony relatively well.

A calm had descended on the town - a light breeze and mostly clear sky providing a stark contrast to the events of the night before.

Anthony battered the north Queensland coast overnight, bringing with it wind gusts of up to 150km an hour and heavy rain as it crossed the coast near Bowen around 10pm (AEST).

Storm chaser Nit Sopoulos said it was "like hanging your head out of a car at 100 km/h except it's happening to your whole body. You have to really fight not to get blown over".

The category two cyclone tore branches from trees and brought down powerlines, leaving about 10,000 homes without power.

Electricity was still cut to most of central Bowen early this morning but supply to many areas was uninterrupted.

However, the town appeared to have avoided major structural damage and was spared the threat of serious flooding because the storm hit at low tide.

The weather bureau said that Anthony had weakened into a tropical low as it moved further inland but issued a separate severe weather warning for damaging wind gusts and heavy rain, reaching up to 200mm in 24 hours in some areas.

Flood warnings remain for rivers and streams between Townsville and Mackay and the Pioneer River, with Townsville and Mackay preemptively declared disaster areas to allow emergency crews evacuate homes if needed.


The bureau expects Yasi to survive as a cyclone over the interior of Queensland until the weekend.

Last night Burdekin Shire Council Mayor Lyn McLaughlin said residents there had stocked up on torches, batteries and water.

"The biggest threat are trees coming down on powerlines," she told AAP. "We'd encourage people to be prepared for that."

Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the storms were "another big, cruel blow coming on top of what has been a summer of tragedy already".

"After the summer that's been can any more cruel blows actually land?"

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said that the emergency services were prepared.

"We are not battle weary, we are battle ready and our highly trained people are well rested and ready to respond," she said.

Those poor people, my thoughts are with them.

Hi AnninGlos.

This Cyclone "Yasi" will be the largest and most ferocious that Queensland has ever experienced on record.
In fact Australia itself ,has never seen anything this size.

It's width runs from up as far as Cooktown and further, right down the East coast to Mackay.

More than 500km wide, ( half the size of Britain ) with the eye of the Cyclone being approx 100km across.

Can only hope and pray for no deaths, but i have this terrible feeling.

Thoughts and prayers for all.


Tony

we had a small item on this on our evening news .... it looks horrendous.


Meanwhile most of the eastern US and eastern Canada is facing what might be the worst snow storm ever

Places as far south as Dallas Texas are covered with ice.




What is happening with the weather?!




I know .... La Nina is being blamed.

I tell you what mate I would not want to be living at Cairns or Innisfail, the storm is coming right at them. I see where Coles Supermarket has great long queues of people waiting to stay in the building. They are doing the list of those booked first. The remainder will get bussed out. It is a mass evacuation which of course leads to looting once again.

I see where a NZ couple just purchased a coffee bar in Cairns yesterday. They said they got insurance cover and were staying put. I don't fancy their chances... bit too optomistic.

The eye of the storm doesn't look as intense as it did the other day in the pictures of the weather maps.... it was windy there earlier but has calmed off a bit like it is getting ready to take a smashing. The CBD is deathly quiet so I do hope everyone is safe.

As you say great place for a holiday (not for a backpacker from the states who has just got over the floods) but not somewhere one would want to live.

Tassie temperatures looking very good...

Persie

My cousin is in Mt Louisa, in Townsville and I gather Townsville will get a battering. I hope he and his exwife will be safe.

Huia.

Hi Tony

After ringing our friends in Queensland without success,I sent a letter (snail-mail they have no internet) and have just received a phone call 9.0am this morning to say that they're okay,but now worrying about the cyclone.
They said where they live they have long periods of drought and then periods of heavy rainfall......before they emigrated grumbled about our cold winter,but, although I love to holiday in the sun, think I prefer our climate....even after having two feet of snow recently!!

Mau

Hi Huia.
Thoughts for your friends in Townsville.

Apart from force of this Cyclone and the wind speeds of up to 285 kms plus....one of the main worries is the storm surges. These storm surges are monster waves that follow and move with the storm that caused it,and pushing up against the shore as the cyclone moves inland.

Storm surges are expected to reach seven metres in Townsville.

Storm surges three metres above a high tide which is expected to reach four metres, means seven metres of water could be flowing through some suburbs of Townsville later tonight. As of this afternoon there are no vessels currently berthed at the port of Townsville.

It's hoped that the high tide will peak and then go down before the cyclone crosses the coast but if that's not the case, then it's unknown what really could happen but up to 10,000 homes could be inundated according to local authorities.

Yasi's size also means there will be effects a long way inland, with the storm to maintain category three force as it passes over Georgetown - some 300km inland - tomorrow Friday (midday )


Persie. I wouldn't like to living that far up north either.
Well, not during Cyclone season anyway.

We have friends also in MacKay which is in its direct path, and hoping they are safe also.

More than 400,000 people live in the cyclone's expected path, which includes the cities of Cairns, Townsville and Mackay, which are also main tourist areas and take in the Great Barrier Reef.

The military evacuated nearly 40,000 people from low-lying coastal areas overnight on Tuesday.

Those who are staying to ride out the storm in their homes in the Cyclones path, have been told to huddle up in their bathrooms with mattresses, and have been warned not to venture outdoors till midday Friday.

I will be watching the news all night and thinking how fortunate that i live in the South of the country.( Melbourne ) and away from Cyclones.
Although....our own state news is telling us the Gippsland region of Victoria is under bush fire threat as we endure this heat wave,and many fires have sprung up. Then of course we still have our own flooding up north of the state border townships.

Tasmania does appear to be the state to live in, and its climate is similair to the U.K and also New Zealand.

Hi Mau. I think where your friends are living they are not under direct threat from this cyclone, as they are to far down south in QLD state. Worse case scenario for those in the south of Queensland is how much water this Cyclone "Yasi" will dump on Queensland up in the north.
Major flooding again is something they dont really want right now.

I guess...no one really knows what to expect, as no one alive today in Australia has gone through or can explain a catergory 5 cyclone here. Last one ( so they tell us ) was in 1918 and before that 1890s.

Its just a waiting game now.

Tony...l can't comprehend what those poor people are going through. Absolutely terryfying.
My thought are with them all, l wish l could help in some way.

jude xx

Thursday 6:30 am Queensland.

Our News reports are telling us the townships of Mission Beach, Tully and Innisfail appear to be the worst hit as Australians wake this morning.

According to latest News its to early to access what damage has been done as reports come through from different parts of Queensland.

At 6:30 am ....no deaths have been reported.
No damage has been reported to Evacuation centres.

Cyclone "Yasi" downgraded to catergory 3 as it moves inland.

Amid the chaos and devastation of Cyclone Yasi a baby is being born at a Cairns evacuation centre.

Cairns councillor Linda Cooper said Akiko Pruss went into labour at the evacuation centre at Redlynch State College at 2.45am (AEST).

"She's been in labour for a few hours," she said.

"She's doing really well.

"Today's actually her due date."

Ms Pruss and her husband Christian, live in Cairns, and the baby will be their second child.

An English midwife, called Carol, who is celebrating her 25th wedding anniversary on holidays here, is delivering the baby, Ms Cooper said.

we stayed on a property near Tully back in 1976

Hope they're safe

Tony
Thank you for your updates. It is a terrifying situation there.

All best wishes to the new-born. I hope all has gone well with the delivery.

My thoughts are with you.

Gwyn

update 1:00pm Friday Queensland.

The worst hit areas by Cyclone Yasi are Mission Beach, Tully, Cardwell, Silkwood, Innisfail.

Concerns now are storm surges and flash flooding for most seaside towns along the coast.

CYCLONE Yasi weakened but remained dangerous today as a second major storm surge threatened the north Queensland cities of Cairns and Townsville.

While no lives were lost, reports also began to emerge of severe damage to small coastal communities that bore the brunt of the massive cyclone, which struck overnight with winds of 290km/h.

Cardwell was among the worst hit, with "significant" destruction wreaked on many homes and millions of dollars worth of boats damaged at the nearby Port Hinchinbrook Marina.

Along the north Queensland coast homes were torn apart and crops flattened as the monster storm smashed into the coast at around midnight.

Winds tore off the roofs or damaged up to half the homes in Tully and caused heavy destruction in the nearby resort centre of Mission Beach as it roared across the coast. Innisfail was also hit hard.


The major city of Cairns has escaped to much damage, and people from some evacuation centres have been allowed to return to their homes to access any damage.

No deaths or serious injuries have been reported as yet, but their is still more smaller communities that are still not accessible by the SES or police because of flooding and high winds. Floods are now a major concern.

Many Banana and Sugar plantations have been flattened.
85% of Queenslands Banana crops destroyed...( 200 mil dollars worth )

Many Houses with their roofs ripped completely off in some area's, and many homes,businesses and properties with much structural damage in the main hit area's.

Cyclone Yasi is still moving slowly south-west across the QLD state towards the QLD and Northern Territory border and 390 kms away from the town of Mt. Isa which is on high alert. Yasi Has dropped now to a category 2 and starting to weaken slowly, but is still dangerous as it move towards the west.

Its amazing just how big this cyclone is.

From Mt.Isa toTownsville & Cairns it is a 14hr plus straight drive normally....and the tail end of this cyclone is still hovering over the east coast with heavy downpours and very strong winds.

Tony,
Do you have any new's on Montville in Queensland please, my cousin live's there.
Thank's for all the update's don't really see it here on my local new's station's.

Pam

Thank you for posting this, cousin.

Thinking of all affected by this dreadful situation.