After the floods comes the mother of all cyclones =(

[kazz]

The edge of Cyclone Yasi, 500-kilometres (310 miles) across and rated category-five, is beginning to lash Australia's far north Queensland coast, with thousands of residents now in evacuation centres and others fleeing to higher ground on warnings it will be catastrophic and frightening.

Winds are expected up to 300-kilometres an hour (190mph); a leading storm surge of up to six-metres (20 feet) is predicted in places; and satellite imagery shows a monster weather system to rival Hurricane Katrina that destroyed the US city of New Orleans in 2005.

The storm's scale of destruction is as shocking as it is inevitable. In the map link 2nd below, the United States from Pennsylvania in the east to Nevada in the west, from Georgia in the south to Canada in the north and well into Mexico would be battered with 300km/h (190mph) winds and up to one metre (3.2 feet)of rain.

Radio Australia:Pacific Beat:Story:A wrap on Cyclone Yasi as it approaches the Queensland

How Cyclone Yasi compares in size to countries | Herald Sun

=(

[pafindr]

Wow stay safe.

I wonder why they are comparing it to Katrina though (class 3 when it made landfall). This is more along the lines of hurricane Andrew, which was a class 5 when it made landfall. I was here in Miami during Andrew and it was devastating. My prayers are with you.

[JoetheGI]

My prayers are with you.

Ditto.

[marinepilot]

As are mine. Please be safe.

[kazz]

Thanks for your thoughts.

This is AussieGeorge & QldCop's home state . . . . I'm just sitting way down south shaking my head as Mother Nature rips apart what's left of Queensland after the worst floods in 100+ years. =(

[SANE-A30]

Thanks for your thoughts.

This is AussieGeorge & QldCop's home state . . . . I'm just sitting way down south shaking my head as Mother Nature rips apart what's left of Queensland after the worst floods in 100+ years. =(

I hope they are ok :( how scary! I have been praying for you guys ever since this started....the other day at work I had to educate my coworkers about the floods, they did'nt know anything about it.... part of what is wrong with human nature, " If it don't concern me I'm not concerned"......hop on a ship and come to Florida ;)

[ChesCopPodz]

I hope they are ok :( how scary! I have been praying for you guys ever since this started....the other day at work I had to educate my coworkers about the floods, they did'nt know anything about it.... part of what is wrong with human nature, " If it don't concern me I'm not concerned"......hop on a ship and come to Florida ;)

Where they can get here just in time to catch the hurricane season there.

[SANE-A30]

Where they can get here just in time to catch the hurricane season there.

lol true but hurricane season ( knock on wood) is nothing compared to what they are experiencing.... however.... I have a feeling it might just be VERY VERY bad this year :(((

[MikeG]

Wow stay safe.

I wonder why they are comparing it to Katrina though (class 3 when it made landfall). This is more along the lines of hurricane Andrew, which was a class 5 when it made landfall. I was here in Miami during Andrew and it was devastating. My prayers are with you.

Dramatic effect. The media are irresponsible and like to drive up fear and panic. Katrina was a disaster because New Orleans was below sea level. The actual disaster didn't occur until days after the hurricane hit them. The levees failed but the hurricane was relatively mild. In fact, right after Katrina passed the press was touting how they dodged a bullet and the levees were designed to withstand a Cat 3 hurricane. "Heckuva Job brownie" comment was made after the city "successfully" dodged the wrath of the hurricane but before the levees failed.

I actually blame the media for a lot of the deaths. They are the "Wolf criers." If the story of the week is "Hurricane" it will always be the worst possible disaster ever. When it turns out that the media overhyped it, the people remember it. Then when a real monster storm like this happens, they use the same words and people tune it out. Media and politicians are never punished for overreacting but the effects of that overreaction can be devastating. New Orleans in the past had called for many evacuations prior to Katrina only for residents to find that if they evacuated, their houses were burgled and the storm damage was insignificant. It was hard to convince them to evacuate after being wrong so many previous times.

Wikipedia usually has very good cyclone coverage - very current and and also has historical reference.

Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Prayers sent.

[locokarma]

Stay safe.

[Aussie George]

All is good here. Bloody hot and dry.

Queensland is a huge state. I am in the south. Cairns, Townsville and that area (where Yasi are) are in the far north. I am probably closer to Kazz in the very south of our country that I am to Yasi in the north of my state.

We are nearly over all the flood damage and are moving on well. The emergency workers in the north have a big job ahead of them.

In this case the State Premier has been on the tv saying how it is going to kill people and devestate areas etc. At the time i thought maybe she was beating it up a bit. The first reports are that there are areas that were smashed but there is not the level of death and injury that was expected, and this could be partly due to the recent events here.

We had extensive flooding in the north and the south. There were lives lost in those and it has come out that some of those lives should never have been at risk but people did not want to listen to the warnings. When you are told repeatedly to get out because it is going to turn to crap, THEN GET OUT!!!!

It looks like a lot of people have heard the warnings this time and have complied and it looks like that has saved lives.

One of our Commissioners was at a press conference last night and they asked something about 6 people who had contacted the media and told them about how they were trapped and wanted to be evacuated but had been told that help was not coming. He was quick to tell them (and he barely held back his anger) that these people had been advised several times to evacuate and had chosen not to take that advice, then they left it too late and he was not going to risk other people's lives because they were too stupid to get out when they were told. It was obvious he was angry and he was rolling his eyes and did not hold back. And he was right.

The amount of people who go into these things with the "it won't be me" attitude. Idiots.


To those still in those areas you have my thoughts.

One of the women at my wife's work has a son in the job up that way. Yesterday that called back to the evacuation centre and told to wait until it passed. There was no point cops getting killed for no reason and they were worrying that the police station might go.I have not heard how he is yet but I suspect he is fine and doing well. I hope so.

[SANE-A30]

So glad to hear that you are doing well

[kazz]

I know its the odd k or two north of your mate, but there's so much water being dumped up there, wasn't sure if it would cause another flood surge south next week. A few seaside towns took a battering, lots of homes smashed to kindling but you can rebuild . . . . fingers crossed the no injury/death report continues.

There's reports of hail stones @ Broken Hill . . who's Feb average temp is close to 100F!!!! We're expecting storms down here that are off shoots of the cyclone.

I hear the US has been hit by a massive cold front/storm . . hope things there are on the improve.

=/

[kazz]

THE tropical hideaway of Dunk Island is now a paradise lost, with the four-star resort destroyed by Cyclone Yasi.
The 111 traumatised staff who saw out the devastating whirlwind on the island were yesterday finally evacuated. Many had not slept for days. "I swear, I thought I'd already died," said a weary Cassie Pracy. She and partner Darren Barnes, who have worked at Queensland resorts for seven years, were convinced their time had come once the eye had passed over and the fury resumed.

The workers have now all been stood down until the resort can be rebuilt, which could be years. The resort is unrecognisable from the one that is so popular with Victorians. Rooms facing the sea have been smothered in about a metre of sand. The pool, which is only about 50m from the surf, is full of sand, with only the top of the ladder providing any clue that thousands of tourists have frolicked there. One of the kitchens, towards the rear of the resort, is also covered in debris. Only the handles of the stove woks are visible above the sand. Several staff furiously claimed yesterday that they were pressured to stay on the island, despite advance warnings that Yasi would be the worst cyclone to hit in decades. And they alleged resort bosses told them not to speak to the media.
One, who asked to remain anonymous, insisted: "No matter what management tells you, we were told we could not leave. The resort boss said he believed staff would be safe on the island. They weren't evacuated because Yasi was initially forecast to cross at Cairns, he maintained but . . . . . Both men spent the cyclone sheltering in luxury Shangri-La Resort in Cairns, two hours north.

Fury and relief at smashed resort in Dunk Island | Herald Sun

[SANE-A30]

such devastation..... :( sending tons of prayers for sure...hoping you guys catch any type of break you can get and soon!