Cyclone Debbie..

Wow, unless there's a last minute detour, as there sometimes is, it's getting very close and the projected path is right over bulit up areas. Very frightening for all, I would say.
It's a relief to see preparation for animals in place but there'll be a lot of wildlife of all sizes destroyed unfortunately.
Pets and wildlife bunker down for cyclonic conditions
Stay strong pinkboy and all up there in the north. The news is now looking grim.

 

Good luck to all those people up that way..
256 km Mackay Radar Loop

 

Drove around my street loop. Lots of trees down, boat ramp right at the top with only a bit before it inundates the low end of the street, and a shot directly north of my house.

What pics don't let you know: the sound of the howling wind, and the sting of the rain on your face.

We easily slept last night, with no power outage just yet. Later today is the test for many as it crosses the coast around 2. In Mackay we will not get too bad - looks likely the Islands and Bowen will be the worst affected.

pinkboy

 

Anyone who jokes about cyclones should go to the Cyclone Tracy recreation in the Darwin Museum.

You enter through photos of a suburban street into a pitch black room with an actual recording of Cyclone Tracy roaring all around you. We lasted about 5 minutes but in reality this went on for many, many hours. You exit that room (I had my hand on the door handle the whole time) and walk down a drab grey, post Cyclone ruined "street".

Extraordinarily effective and sobering.
Marg

 

a mate is in airlie and they lost power last night at 10pm. getting gnarly now

 

Just been talking to a mate who lives near the airport in Mackay,they have had no power for over 24 hours and the wind is just starting to pick up and they are downstairs in a blocked in safe room with all their camping gear and 2 bottles of OP Rum and no insurance..

 

No insurance?
In a known Cyclone area?
Marg

 

Watching Sunrise now, getting pretty ugly now in Bowen and some other sites.
Cyclone Debbie lashes Whitsundays; BOM warns storm may last 24 hours - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Apparently the last of Cyclone Debbie will be coming down to Brisbane and Gold Coast as a "tropical low" on friday morning so probably heavy rains?

Gold Coast might get the tail end of it as well and might face further flooding, their Nerang Dams are already overflowing now.

Nice and sunny in Brisbane though, probably time to make some preparations just in case.

@pinkboy : looks like its still going at your place, stay bunkered up indoors!!

 

After Yasi, NQ insurance went up so high a lot of places became too expensive to insure...

A lot of people up there are on far less coin than you guys down south, and simply can't afford it.

This will apply to a lot of people.

 

Latest track map has it heading more south than West now. I find the predicted path a bit strange though. I'm more inclined to think it will cut down towards us more than above Proserpine. It is moving a lot faster now at 9km/hr in shallower waters.

We still have power, but our windows are starting to shake with the gusts. Looks like every hour that passes now, the storm surge threat decreases.

pinkboy

 

I hope everyone up there is safe. Don't like cyclones- especially the ones may affect Qld economy recovery

 

Yes that's what he said ,i think it was over 3k per year in cyclone alley much the same as high risk floods zones in Brisbane ..

 

I agree, but it could be worse

I wonder whether there are many homes in this area built specifically to stand up to cyclones
Have this criteria for builds in WA Karratha etc they are always getting hit

 

Hold tight....your more than half way.

 

Eye directly over Proserpine now.
Marg

 

Is it going to pass over Moranbah ? looks like it.

 

Isn't having insurance a condition to getting a mortgage?

 

got a house out there you need to disappear

 

We've been here before....

 

You can easily let it lapse. That's what a lot of people did once their $700 insurance came in at 3-5k.....