TROPICAL CYCLONE ALFRED

 Outdoor furniture and plants in the kitchen..

This has been how we lived for the past seven days, as Cyclone Alfred came to town...

For two weeks, the tropical cyclone taunted us along the Queensland coast, coming closer, then back out to sea, then tracking slowly, very slowly, West towards Brisbane.

We are a long way South of the Tropic of Capricorn, and it has been rare for a Tropical Cyclone to come this far South.  It turned out to be the biggest, most damaging Cyclone ever seen in our area since records began.

After lashing the islands along our coastline, and causing havoc along the Gold Coast, with high winds, massive waves thrashing the beaches, and record breaking rains, the Cyclone finally crossed onto land on Saturday and Sunday.

Our preparation was to focus on the following:

Very high winds:  we brought all loose objects into the house including all the furniture on three decks and patios.  The howling wind on Saturday night was like a banshee...

Loss of Electricity:  The power went off at 6.00 am Sunday and did not return until Tuesday afternoon.  About 500,000 homes were without power and at least 50,000 are still waiting reconnection.  Falling trees were the main cause of power failure.

Local flooding:  We live on the semi-rural edge of the city, and about 5km from shops and services.  There are two routes we can use to drive there, and both have areas which are known to flood.  The one closest to us floods very regularly, but if we go the other road, we can usually get out.  This time that road remained open.  However our creeks are tidal and there is the risk while the rain keeps pouring down that one can go to the shops and not be able to get home again.

Food:  We stocked up small amounts of necessities over last week, on the basis that we tried not to have too much loss if the power failed.

In the end, I did have to throw out quite a lot of food as the freezer and fridge really defrosted on the third day.  Our average outside temperature was 25-29C so we need power to keep the food fresh.

Lights:  We did not do so well on this matter.  As we are not campers, we have no camping equipment such as good lights.  By the time we realised we needed more than my sewing light (which turned out to be broken) and a couple of small torches, there was nothing left to purchase.  I remembered a pretty battery lamp for the dinner table, which cast a delicate glow for dinner, and that was it.

I am very grateful for our battery operated radio which kept us up to date with events in the wider community and the ongoing weather reports.

Water:  It is not uncommon for water to be cut off, or become tainted during floods.  The stores were stripped of bottled water very quickly but we did get a few bottles plus I filled a lot of my own vessels with water before it began.

We played Scrabble at night, and went to bed early.

Charging our phones became an issue.  We used them very sparingly from day 1, just for checking in with family members.  

On the second day we learnt that our Parish church opened their door for phone charging and also to boil some water for our thermos.  A quick visit, then back home to avoid being caught by rising flood water.

Outdoors is Indoors - garden chairs

 We have a gas barbeque and used it twice with our fresh meat, but had to stand outside in poor shelter to use it.  I tried boiling water in a little metal saucepan but it took a long time, and I don't think it was good for the saucepan either...

As the Cyclone headed West, and the winds dropped, we could go out between showers yesterday to see the flooded creek down our road.  This is on my walking path, where you can see a bit of the bridge rail, the rest of it being inundated.

The creek is very full, and the rushing water dangerous.

The local road bridge, flattened railings when the creek was right over the the road.

We had some water seepage in a store room under our house, and a lot of baling went on to keep it from the living areas.  This was during the worst of the event, and we were up in the middle of the night.

Some lessons were learned, as it will happen again.

Global warming/climate change, whatever we call it, but things are different now.

We need a better light/s and probably better bbq equipment.

I have heard of a small fuel stove which you can use indoors.

We can live on cold food and water, but when it is wet and the wind is howling, something warm is very welcome.

I know some people lived on tinned food, but as I rarely buy it, I was at a loss.

I need to explore what is available to make life easier in this situation.

We were lucky, as many people will be without power for a week or more.

I have been re-reading a old favourite, Little House on the Prairie.  How inspiring it is to read how they lived beautifully, entirely self-sufficiently, back in the day.

Unable to go out, I also got out some fabric and patterns that have been 'in the queue' for over a year, and cut out some black stretch pants, and a nice poplin shirt.  Now that life is getting back to normal, I hope to get them sewn up soon.

It certainly has been an eventful week, and in my long life I have never experienced anything like this.  I did find the three days without power challenging, and was glad when it ended.

I am thankful that we are safe, our family are all safe, and that the house was not damaged.  Hundreds of people have had homes and lives destroyed by this cyclonic event, and it will take a long time for our State to recover.

I hope you are well, and if you have read this far,

Thank you for listening.

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