[Gpdd] OFF TOPIC: Cyclones in Queensland Australia - it's a bit long, sorry
Julie
juliejohnson12 at bigpond.com
Fri Feb 1 08:16:08 EST 2013
Hi all,
I wish to thank Penny for thinking of we Queenslanders at this time. I will honestly say I have just suffered through the worst, most frightening week of my life. Well, I went to bed Thursday evening to nice rain, thinking great, the plants are going to be happy. The last weather update said there will be devastating weather on the sunshine coast, but I didn't not know then that the cyclone was moving in our direction. We lost power Thursday night, and we didn't have it reconnected until 1 week later. Living rurally, no power means no water to drink, no shower, no bathroom facilities, no lights, no fridge, no stove, no telephone, no mobile phone, no internet, absolutely nothing. Not even the car because all roads were blocked by felled trees or flooding on the roads.
When I awoke on Friday morning, 2 huge 70 year old cypress pines which must have stood 2-3 times the height of our house were lying on the ground, ripped out by the roots. And the most amazing thing was, they didn't fall on our house or garage or water tanks, not even my mother's exotic trees which she had been fostering all through the drought! Someone was looking after us, no doubt in my mind.
However, the rain got heavier and heavier, and I really thought we were going to be flooded. The water was at our door, and only had 2 inches to go and we would have had a house with flood water in it. As it was the wind gale was so strong, rain was being blown under all the doors we have so we were using all the towels to stuff each side of the door, and desperately trying to ring someone. In the end my sister and I decided to go into town to try to use a public phone, but we only made it to the corner and were stopped first by a fallen power line, but as it was insulated, not jumping around, and we watched 3 other cars drive over it, we decided to do the same.... then a fallen tree blocked the road so we got as far as a neighbour. In a situation like that, everyone is pulling together. We were taken in at the neighbours and we made a quick mobile phone call to the police and were told not to move, not to drive over the power line, we needed rescuing. I said bugger that, I have my intellectually disabled brother at home with all my piggies, our dogs, our birds, and if the water came in I knew Chris would be very scared. So, I walked the distance back to home. The gale was so forceful, the raindrops felt like small shards of glass or tiny hailstones hitting my face and I had to try and protect my eyes. Next thing I'm trying to siphon water away from the house, using the yard broom trying to sweep the water away, cutting down mum's precious rose bushes to try to avoid them being ripped from the ground like the pine trees.
We apparently had the cyclone right on top of our township and we certainly were suffering the most in our immediate area. It was a very slow moving cyclone and we were battered for 2 days and nights. Then........ it just stopped! Two mornings of battering, and the 3rd movning the sun was shining in a perfect blue sky. Then we suffered through an extremely hot day (i.e. 35 degrees celcius, 100% humidity, and no power for fans or air conditioning). I was desperately worried for my piggies. They were so hot they weren't even interested in eating very much at all.
Our power was finally turned on Thursday 31 January (yesterday). These are necessities not luxuries to be taken for granted .
And I must say that our local grocery store, not a large store like Coles or Woolworths, gave all their customers an account for the goods they were buying because the manager knew the ATM and cash card facilities were also "down", and said settle the bill next time you come to town. I think that shows what a wonderful community that Maleny is.
This terrible cyclone started in North Queensland, has done immeasurable damage to so many towns and cities, and proceeded down the coast line and ruined so many towns and have left so many people homeless and is now down in middle New South Wales leaving devastation in it's path.
I find myself asking what is going on with the world? In the US there are terrible tornadoes and hurricanes, snow storms, in the UK there seems to be massive flooding on an annual basis, Australia suffers crippling bush fires and 45 degree celcius temperatures, then cyclones and major flooding, and the terrible air pollution in China, the wars, the staring people and children - is this a sign that all is not right with us and the Powers that Be? Is this a warning for us to "pick up our socks"?
I do apologise for the length of this message. I just want to end by saying it's wonderful to be in contact again, and a great honour to belong to the GPDD with members who give to all other members their unbridled friendship, love, advice, care, and give even more love and care to all their furball masters which I believe the "Power that Be" has entrusted into our care, obviously because He knows who the best people are (US!) to care for his small, innocent, loving, cute, cuddly, squeaky babies.
I love you all, and God Bless you all and your masters
Thank you to everyone for being there for everyone!
Julie + Kimba, Sooty, Treacle, Snowdrop, Hugo
and from the Rainbow Bridge - Muppet, Teddy, Dougall, Archie, Wheeky, Brandy, Donald, Joey, Angus, Hamish, Toby
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