unwanted visitor

[journeyman Mick]

Clinton,
apparently there;s a hotline (1800 number) you can ring to check on friends and rellies, if I find it I'll PM you. I saw a bit of the news tonight and they make it sound as if it's all in hand. I know that it isn't. They're trying to organise volunteer rural fire fighters to help in the clean up but while there's lots of interest from our brigades there's a lack of communications somewhere up the chain or between different agencies and it hasn't happened yet. I'm not even sure whether they'll need special legislation so that we're protected legally and accident compensation-wise like we are when fighting fires. Not bagging anyone here, it's a huge job and it's probaly beyond what they've ever planned for.

My neighbour works for Ergon and was away for work when the cyclone struck. No doubt he's been sent to work on power restoration as he hasn't been home since then, he may not even know that his house is okay

Mick

[Schtoo]

Glad to hear everyone is ok, not too much harm done by the looks which is even better.

Last phone exchange I did work at had 3 seperate generators, 35,000+ litres of diesel and was fed from 3 different incoming lines plus a massive battery bank. That's 7 levels of failsafe for a single exchange.

Can't even recall what it's name was, but it was within walking distance of that big bridge in Sydney, and a few months before 1999 ended.

I just know that all other telephone exchanges are various steps down from that one, but they took it really serious that time at that one exchange. Can't think why... :confused:

Nice to know the folks out 'there' get looked after as well as the folks 'who matter'.

We get typhoons here, which are pretty soft in reality. It rains a lot, blows a bit but nothing frightful or scary. Yet some people here manage to cark it with each decent one that arrives. I guess that might speak volumes for common sense that appears to be far less than common around here. :mad:

[Cliff Rogers]

More pics of our place. I guess they don't mean that much unless you saw a before shot.
The Rain forrest shots all have a big green canopy & you couldn't see the hill behind Rain Forest 1.

I have to go to Innisfail today to assess the condition of some water damaged computers.... they have more than tree damage down there.

I have more but they didn't shrink down to less that 100K.

The 50 year old pine tree in Garden 3 just missed the water tank & knocked out 2 panels of the front fence. We can stand that up again no worries. The fence, not the pine tree.

The road in Pine Trees 1 has been cleared by a tractor.

The shiny thing on the hill in the background of Rain Forest 2 is a sheet of iron from a dairy about 1km up the road.
The chimney top of their house was on our front path... it is a 400mm square sheet of tin, I hate to think where it could have gone.

[Iain]

George Bush offered asisstance and Howard declined, bet the locals are really pleased about that knowing how long it tales for the pollies to get off their bums, except for a bit of rubber necking and bleating to the media.
We offered aid to Atlanta and it was accepted, thought it would be nice to get some money happening a bit quicker.

[echnidna]

Glad you and yours are ok Cliff.
and likewise to Mick
and everyone else

[jow104]

Rubbernecking is a two edged saw.

We had a foot & mouth outbreak (cattle only)some years ago and were forbidden to visit the countryside. This of course then created economic disaster for unconnected businesses in the countryside. However I can fully understand victims of your storm having reactions to visitors eyeballing.

Hope your recovery is not too long.

[Cliff Rogers]

Rubber necks are a pain in a disaster situation like a cyclone.

There's nothing for them to buy, there's nowhere for them to stay & they just get in the bloody road of people who are out there trying to work.

Today I went down to Innisfail from the Tablelands to help get computers in a bank back on line so they could process Centrelink vouchers.
I then drove to my office in Cairns to do pays for my troops & then back up to the tablelands with 300Kgs of fruit & veg for our group of friends who share in a bulk buy.

I did about 270Kms today & the bloody rubber necks nearly drove me nuts.... they slow down to gork at everything. :mad:

[journeyman Mick]

Cliff,
if you've got the Cairns Post with the pic on the front page of the timber batten that's speared through the palm tree can you please scan it to show everyone? I spotted it in passing today at a client's place, don't have it myself. It's a pretty awseome illustration of the power involved in a cyclone (and a good reason not to go rubbernecking during the blow )

Some of our brigade is going to Herberton on Monday to relieve some of the clean up crews. There's an amazing amount of community spirit, a local building company sent a truck & bobcat plus 10 tradesmen & apprentices + utes and tool trailers down to Innisfail today for a week to help in the repairs, all at no charge. Went out to dinner last night in town and saw about 30 SES volunteers that had flown on from down south, checking in to a hotel. A lot of the volunteers are people that have left their families and jobs behind for a week or two. A big pat on the back for everyone involved.

Mick

[felixe]

I am glad to hear everyone on this forum from FNQ has fared ok, after the cyclone, I hope everything is going well.
Do any of you guys know how Dunk Island (4kms off Mission Beach) is?
I saw some news footage of Mission and it looks as though it copped a battering.
I worked up there 3 years ago, and I have not yet heard from anyone how the resort is.
Cliff how is the tablelands, how is Malanda, the whole area up there through to Mareeba is fantastic and I hope it didn't get too battered.

[namtrak]

There are a few pics here. The Peeramon Pub copped a bit of a pasting. We used to spend Sunday Afternoons there rocking it out to the Johnston Stompers.

Cheers

[Clinton1]

One thing I am confident in is that the people in FNQ are the kind of people pull through this well.

I hope that at the end of the recovery (years away) there's enough energy left over to push for a better way of dealing with such events.

I'm not saying that to level any criticism, just that I think some lessons can be learned and I hope that a bit of funding gets put aside for it. i.e. upgrading an inland town's water supply to cope with a rapid demand for bottled treated water, and pre-positioning a heap of plastic 20lt bottles. Or flood proofing the road south of Tully. I think the nation can probably afford it, IMO.
AND, being able to declare a disaster and paying those SES champions, so we as a nation don't have to rely on families sacrificing wages to pull us all out of the poo.

[journeyman Mick]

AND, being able to declare a disaster and paying those SES champions, so we as a nation don't have to rely on families sacrificing wages to pull us all out of the poo.

I don't think they pay SES volunteers even if they do declare a disaster, do they? Going to see what's left of Herberton tommorrow early. They've got the rural firies relieving some of the other agencies.

As far as being better prepared for emergencies, well years ago (before the place filled up with southerners) locals had pantries and water tanks. Some of us still do. People around here asked me how I fared during/after the cyclone, and I tell them fine, coz I've got my own water supply, a well stocked pantry and generator, plus I've climbed the only large tree in our yard and removed a lot of its top limbs. "You were lucky" they reply. I tell them, "yeah I was lucky, but mostly I was prepared" Obviously if the cyclone had ripped right through here I might not be so lucky, but historically this area hasn't been hit as much as others and I'm a little way from the coast so wouldn't get the full strength of the blow.

Mick (luck favours the well prepared)

[namtrak]

This is one of the roads leading into Lake Eacham.

[CameronPotter]

Good as new...

Better in fact as it has all that nice soft material to act as suspension...

Cam

[namtrak]

Yes, I think Eacham Shire council is going to bite the bullet and convert the road into a 4WD trial course.

This last pic is of the leaf splatter on our house sort of looks more dramatic than it actually is.

Cheers