Guest Ktee Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 THE region's disaster management boss says he will happily have a bet with anyone that at least one cyclone will cross the coast on his turf this season. Today marks the opening day of cyclone season, with the weather bureau penciling in average conditions which should see about four systems form off the Queensland coast over the next six months. Hot and dry conditions have plagued the Far North for the last few weeks, but today is also expected to bring a break in the weather and a wet weekend is forecast in some areas. Emergency Management Queensland northern regional director Wayne Coutts said he was confident of the preparedness of residents around the region, but said the New South Wales fires should have provided a timely wake-up call to be ready, regardless of where you live. "It only takes one weather event. I know the bureau is saying four or five (cyclones), and if one of those are in your area, that's bad," he said. "We always cross our fingers that it's not Cairns or Townsville, not the major population areas (that are hit). But there are always small pockets of people, whether that be 20 or a few hundred, that get affected somewhere." Mr Coutts has urged residents to have three days worth of food and water in stock. They also should ensure medication supplies won't run down if they are isolated by the weather. His warnings come on the brink of what could be one of the wettest weekend's in the area for more than a month. Just 44.2mm fell in Cairns throughout October, which is only slightly below average, but duty forecaster Robin Nataniela said a high pressure system was due to start making its presence felt by late today . "We should have a lot of scattered showers and storms," he said. "It will continue into the weekend. There's a chance it will ease on Sunday." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest carlhall Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 .....and this year can you keep them up your end of the state, last year on 27th January we got the remnants of cyclone Oswald as it hit us in the form of a Tornado, I only just got my home fixed up a couple of weeks ago, so this year play fair and keep the storms up your end.. Please.......:biglaugh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cal Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 I hope you are safe safe up there this year guys and cross your fingers we avoid the floods down here too,,lol Cal x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ktee Posted November 2, 2013 Share Posted November 2, 2013 I hope you are safe safe up there this year guys and cross your fingers we avoid the floods down here too,,lol Cal x Lol and I will stock up on toilet roll Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ktee Posted November 2, 2013 Share Posted November 2, 2013 .....and this year can you keep them up your end of the state, last year on 27th January we got the remnants of cyclone Oswald as it hit us in the form of a Tornado, I only just got my home fixed up a couple of weeks ago, so this year play fair and keep the storms up your end.. Please.......:biglaugh: Oh Hun, I saw the photos, really feel for you. I wouldn't mind but our insurance quotes were coming back at $10,000 per year to get it down we have had to put our excess up to $5,000 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest carlhall Posted November 2, 2013 Share Posted November 2, 2013 Oh Hun, I saw the photos, really feel for you. I wouldn't mind but our insurance quotes were coming back at $10,000 per year to get it down we have had to put our excess up to $5,000 ouch, ours has gone up extra $108 a year, excess is $800 but we do not live in a normal cyclone area, the tornado was a once in 100 year event (so they tell us) and its impossible to flood where i live (unless Noah knows something different). We are classed as a low risk area for natural disasters and hopefully last years tornado was the 100 year event and does not become a regular occurrence. PS.... Have you thought of moving Kate. :jiggy: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ktee Posted November 22, 2013 Share Posted November 22, 2013 ouch, ours has gone up extra $108 a year, excess is $800 but we do not live in a normal cyclone area, the tornado was a once in 100 year event (so they tell us) and its impossible to flood where i live (unless Noah knows something different). We are classed as a low risk area for natural disasters and hopefully last years tornado was the 100 year event and does not become a regular occurrence. PS.... Have you thought of moving Kate. :jiggy: Wow I wish ours had only gone up by $108. What gets me is that we are half way up a hill so there is no chance of a storm surge or floods. However, we are surrounded by trees as we are in a rainforest. Talking of which we had a 80ft tree fall in the garden two days ago, thankfully it missed the house by 4ft. I wouldn't mind but we have just put the excess up to $5,000 lol. Would I move, no never.... Or if I did it would be reluctantly, I love it up here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Love Shoes Posted November 22, 2013 Share Posted November 22, 2013 The storm last week got me a bit worried Electricity went off for three hours some were without over night Hope we don't get hit again this season Fingers crossed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ktee Posted November 22, 2013 Share Posted November 22, 2013 The storm last week got me a bit worried Electricity went off for three hours some were without over night Hope we don't get hit again this season Fingers crossed I can't remember exactly how long we were without power after Cyclone Yasi, i think it was just under 2 weeks. Unfortunately we didn't have a generator and people were selling a $800 one for $5000 and they got a buyer. We received an emergency payment which we used to buy a generator and some other cyclone things so we should be prepared for the next one. I'm not sure if Cyclones get down as far as you but it may be worth considering buying a generator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest carlhall Posted November 22, 2013 Share Posted November 22, 2013 I can't remember exactly how long we were without power after Cyclone Yasi, i think it was just under 2 weeks. Unfortunately we didn't have a generator and people were selling a $800 one for $5000 and they got a buyer. We received an emergency payment which we used to buy a generator and some other cyclone things so we should be prepared for the next one. I'm not sure if Cyclones get down as far as you but it may be worth considering buying a generator. We were without electricity for 10 days but managed to get a generator after 5 days. We get the tail end of cyclones and normally it is just the sever rain and not the excessive winds. The Tornado was the tail end of a tropical storm and just turned nasty when it got to us. It caused flooding in Bundeberg with flooding as far down as Gympie. Being without electricity was an inconvenience but the biggest worry was that after the tornado we lost all communication with the outside world, no phones or mobiles and obviously no Internet. I was unable to let anyone know we were OK and even more worrying was that we could not send for help in an emergency as there was no "000" service available. It took 3 days for the SES to get large equipment through to us and be able to help the worst of the damaged properties. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ktee Posted November 22, 2013 Share Posted November 22, 2013 We were quite lucky as the phone tower is on a battery back up (obviously a huge battery) so it gave us signal until the battery drained, during that time we used the car for air con and to charge mobiles, lap tops etc. I suppose we should have a thread on how to prepare for emergencies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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