Getting ready for a natural disaster

[Claude]

FNQ (Far North Queensland) residents are getting ready for cyclone Ita, 300km/h (~187Mph) winds and about 600 to 800 ml (~31.5 inches) of rain over the next 2-3 days.

Evacuation centres have just opened, it is expected to hit land at about 11pm local time (UCT/GMT + 10) and have severe damage in a lot of areas north of Cairns. I was there in 2011 when cyclone Yasi hit, and, let me tell you, it's not a pretty sight. The good thing is that one knows well ahead of time so preparations can be made in time.

It will be interesting to see how much devastation there is when daylight breaks tomorrow morning.

Some evacuation centers have now had the doors locked as it is too dangerous to open the doors, this 8 hours before the cyclone actually hits.

[Rudi]

Gosh....how DO you prepare for something like this. It must be such a mental burden on the folks living out that way. I hope that people remain safe and that the storm is less severe than predicted.!!

[Claude]

Living in Australia teaches you to prepare and cope with natural disasters Rudi. I was in a luxury resort when Yasi hit, the staff took all the umbrellasa inside, threw all the beach chairs in the pools, removed all the tables, all the signs and shut all the shutters, escaped without a scatch.

Ita looks a bit more menacing at the moment because it is expected to go inland for up to 300km and there is a lot of agricultural industry in the area.

However, listening to the FNQ emergency radio, at the moment it is downgraded to category 4 in the past hour and winds down to 285 kph with the gusts at 120 kph.

Pretty much everyone is ready for it, evacuation shelters are now closed to people who are not in the red and orange zones. (Difficult to explain if you haven't been / lived in the area).

[Claude]

Well, no casualties as far as it is known, lots of trees down, power failure and massive amount of rain. Flooding will set in, which is never pleasant up there since the rivers are the home of crocodiles.

[BobH]

Prayers said for the safety of all. Having experience of several northern hemisphere hurricanes of similar magnitude, I know what everyone is going through. My nature is perverse enough to enjoy the majesty of such storms. I also like to sit out and watch thunderstorms . . . the closer the lightning strikes and the louder the thunder, the more I enjoy it. Somehow, it reminds me of the majesty of God and the helplessness of man. I find them inspiring.

[Claude]

Prayers said for the safety of all. Having experience of several northern hemisphere hurricanes of similar magnitude, I know what everyone is going through. My nature is perverse enough to enjoy the majesty of such storms. I also like to sit out and watch thunderstorms . . . the closer the lightning strikes and the louder the thunder, the more I enjoy it. Somehow, it reminds me of the majesty of God and the helplessness of man. I find them inspiring.

Well, you should come and visit us then: I've lost 8 computers to lightning strikes over the years, a fair bit of other electronic stuff too. The nickname for our suburb up here is "Lightning Ridge"; because we are on top of sandstone which contains a lot of ironstone, and that attracts lightning.

[BobH]

G'day, Claude!

I, too, have lost several computer and countless modems to lightning strikes.

I would dearly love to visit Oz and have thought throughout my life that I would do so; however age and its ravages seem to prove me wrong on that and many another front.

Please, let us know the outcome of the cyclone.

[Rudi]

Yeah...I was going to ask for an update on the storm Claude. TX for the feedback so far. Like Bob, my prayers are also with those folks.
Bob...I too love to watch thunderstorms and always marvel at lightning...though nowadays it from a safe vantage point (if there is something like that!). I have many 35mm photos of lightning that I have taken over the years...but sadly most of the actual images are lost The negatives are still around somewhere in an old box I think!

Anyways, I can recall when I was around 20 something, I was standing on my garage roof (flat roof) and with a tripod and 35mm SLR with shutter set to bulb (staying open) I was snapping at lightning from an approaching storm. I was getting excited as the storm drew closer and getting more and more spectacular shots of the lightning when all of a sudden, a bolt hit the large powerlines that ran across a field right next to my house. Sparks flew off the lines and onto the roof of the garage.... well, needless to say... I , jumping off the roof and ran into the house, only to remember that I left my camera on the roof. I had to go and fetch it as the rain was about to fall and I didn't want to loose the images I had captured.

That was quite a story in my life and probably one of the closest life threatening encounters I've had.
So that is my love and affinity with electrical storms.
Here in RSA, the highveld of Johannesburg and the Free State get the highest amounts of thunderstorms. And similar to what Claude says...the area close to Sun City (west of JHB) in the North West Province, has a high concentration of iron in the rocks and can attract many strikes hitting terra firma. One of the towns in this location where I was on holiday a few years ago is called Rustenburg (so called because of the reddish colour of the rocks due to the ore actually rusting in the rock).

[Claude]

Ita is about to hit Cairns, so far no deaths or major injuries, although flooding will be a problem. My friends up there simply , saying this is FNQ

[mishmish3000]

I'll keep you in my prayers Claude! Hope all will be ok for you and your friends. Having dealt with tornadoes and blizzards, I just can't imagine the power and ferocity of a hurricane/cyclone. EEEAK!

My grandfather was struck by lightning back in the 1930s; he survived but the soles of his shoes were blown off, he had a burn where his belt buckle was, and he had a spot on the top of his head where his hair turned white! He was running to flip the switch to turn off the milking machine in his dairy barn when lightning hit the barn, came down through the switch and exited through... Grandpa! It threw him the length of the barn (40 feet). My uncles saw it happen as they were right behind him. He was dazed for a bit but other than that, he was fine!

Gosh, Rudi, you're lucky!!! Talk about being a dedicated photographer!

[PJ_in_FL]

Prayers for you and your friends Claude!

Been through more than enough of the US variety living in Florida and North Carolina, and don't wish these monsters on anyone.

[Rudi]

Wow...quite some event on your Grandpa Anne...as a matter of fact, its shocking...truly shocking!

[BobH]

Rudi, I can only imagine what that strike so close must have done to motivate you! I doubt that I would have remembered the camera for a few hours. My closest call came on my 6th birthday - few years before the flood - when lightning struck the pecan trees behind our house during the party my mother had for me and my friends. There was no real damage but the electricity leapt to the electrical mains and blew all the fuses in the fuse box (years before circuit breakers were common). I think that experience must have been the cause of my fascination with storms.

I lived in the Tampa Bay area for several years. In Summer, thunderstorms would sweep across a broad area every afternoon. I loved to sit on the porch of bayside restaurant and watch them cross the bay dropping bolts to the water. Funny thing was I always had the entire porch to myself. Despite all my efforts at isolation, I lost several modems because the telephone lines were never isolated very well.

The afternoon storms were so common and so frequently produced power outages that we had an administrative assistant who was tasked with having a TV tuned to the weather feed. Anytime storms crossed a certain threshold area around our location, we fired up the back up generators and switched to battery to avoid having our mainframe affected.

[Rudi]

Gosh...it sound very annoying and disruptive. In a place where they are as frequent as you say, I think the fascination would turn to annoyance very quickly.
I'm glad to say in Cape Town. Our weather (and our creature great and small - Claude), are very mild and pleasant compared to some places I've heard about in the lounge!

[BobH]

You would love the Stürm und Drang, Rudi!

[Rudi]

You would love the Stürm und Drang, Rudi!

The theatrical? Not sure...never been into theatre!

[Claude]

Thanks, but there's no need to worry about me/us. We are some 2,600 km (~1,600 miles) further south. Up there, it is still a category one cyclone, power lines and communications disrupted and truckloads of waters everywhere. The resort town of Port Douglas is now safe enough for tourists to leave cyclone shelters but the wind is stilll around 100km/h.

[mishmish3000]

The storms around Tampa sound impressive! When I went through Navy basic training in Orlando, every afternoon around 3 PM, they'd cancel all outdoors training and rush us indoors, since almost like clock work, thunderstorms would appear. I was actually thankful for them because at least we got to sit down for a bit! LOL

Glad you're ok, Claude!

[Claude]

Ita has finally left the land, back over the coast, has now been downgraded to a tropical depression. Flooding is still extensive, but getting better.

Meanwhile, it is starting to get freezing cold as autumn and winter are setting in, today, it only reach 18°C here, must go and ensure I have enough firewood to keep me warm in the wine cellar !

[HansV]

If you drink enough wine you won't notice the cold.
By the way, I thought temperatures didn't fall below 0 Celsius in Sydney?