I was just thinking about you Daisy, and your "mates" as I listened to the news report this morning about the evacuation orders, hoping you are all safe.

You are all in our thoughts. Please, all of you, keep us aware of how you are doing and anything we can do to help.

I am currently glued to my TV, watching the progress of this cyclone. It is estimated to be of a size as large as North America (can you imagine it?), and is expected to last for about 3 days.

Thousands of homes (just heard about 90,000) have already lost power, many people are without means of communication. There have been about 200 calls of distress, but conditions are too dangerous for anyone to do anything about it. And STILL about an hour before the storm hits!!

To make matters even worse (COULD it get worse??) they are experiencing record-high storm surges (2 metres higher than previous records) and extraordinarily high tides. So flooding is inevitable - remember, much of this area has experienced 3 major floods in the last couple of months, and this is their 3rd cyclone in 5 weeks. But there is NOTHING on record to compare with what is to be expected from this monster.

I'm due to spend the day in hospital tomorrow (a regular event, don't panic) - it's going to be pandemonium, because a lot of hospital patients from the worst affected areas have been flown to Brisbane to ride things out in a safer area.

For those concerned about my welfare - I'm not likely to be immediately affected - except that we're expecting a couple of windy, rainy days - just the far-outer edges of the storm. But I don't think I'll sleep too well tonight.

My heart goes out to you. Stay safe.

Australia has seen enough weather-wise. Hoping the cyclone gets down graded in a hurry.

I have been thinking about you Daisy. Sending my very best wishes to you.

Keeping all those downundah in my thoughts.... stay safe!

Alexa

Daisy, Mother Nature sure has been rough on you folk lately. My thoughts are with all our Aussie mates.

Sharon

Oh my gosh, Daisy, I just barely heard about this this morning. We've been so consumed by our weather, I hadn't heard about the cyclone. That La Nina needs to behave herself.

Sally

Daisy, we were just discussing the cyclone on the "big storm" thread.

We got a couple of feet of snow, but life will return to normal in a day or two, as soon as the road crews get us dug out.

Australia, though, is going to take a long time to recover from recent weather events, so I'm hoping everyone can get somewhere safe and stay there.

Annie

Daisy, I have been watching this Cat 5 for days and of course, I think of your well being. I'm glad to hear that you don't think you will be too impacted. Watching the aftermath of the floods, I have to admire the strength and resilience of the Australian people. This might be the last straw though.

Take care,
Cathy

Daisy, I'll be saying a prayer for you and all the Aussies in the cyclones' path. It must be terrifying with something so large as that bearing down on you. Take care and stay safe. NancyLouise

Stay safe, Daisy...you and all your mates.
Linda C

Daisy, you have my good thoughts too. I'll be thinking of you and hoping for the best.

sparing more than a thought...
May all those in Yasi's wake come through safely, especially those who are still recovering from the last round of storms.

Ann

Seems like Mother Nature has really been piling it on, lately. Glad you are safe, but I know your countrymen and -women are having a rough time of it. Hang on! Sunny days will return--someday!

Sue

Please let us continue to hear from you so we know you are okay. Glad you don't think it will have much impact on you. Also glad it came ashore where it is not densly populated.

Beverly

Daisy, I'm saying lots of prayers for you and all your fellow Aussies. You've really had it rough this year.

Mother nature certainly has it in for Queensland :-(
We had a massive squall here last Saturday with 120kmh winds, pretty well wrecked our town along with several other towns nearby. Our electricity was off for three days and some still don't have any. Just ducky with the 40C+ heat we've been having. Our garden is a mess but the trees all landed on replaceable stuff like the fig tree, the rose bushes and the lawns. We lost 25 metres of front brick and wood fencing, smashed down the garden beds but at least the roof stayed on which is more than can be said for many :-( The town looks like a war zone and the sound of chain saws dominates the air.
Surprisingly many people in Perth have little knowledge of this event which happened only 100km from their doorsteps (though it was in the news). We called friends to postpone their visit and the reaction was "A storm? Really? We didn't get any of that cyclone" (the squall was driven ahead of a freak cyclone that was well south of their usual range).

My heart goes out to you and your town, Colleen. I live in Florida and have experienced just about what you are experiencing now and it isn't pretty. Sounds like your home and gardens will be OK, just different. Now that you have electricity, you will be able to tolerate the heat and focus on the job ahead of you. Take care! It takes a long time to recover from the damage facing you and your neighbors.

I remember well the blue tarps and the chainsaws!

Oh, wow, Colleen, my brother lives in Perth. I just emailed him earlier about Yasi and Egypt, as he used to live there, too, but I didn't know a storm was that close to Perth. At least where he works, there was a lot of talk about the flooding that happened a few weeks ago, as many of his coworkers have friends or family that was affected, but I don't know if that's the case with the storm you mentioned. I wasn't aware of it, so I didn't ask him about it.

It sounds like you have a big chore ahead of you. I don't envy you.

Sally

Poor old Perth didn't rate a mention in our Queensland news, Colleen! I suppose They thought we had enough on our plate over this way, without hearing of other disasters Over There.

At least a million people were affected by Yasi, hardly an insigificant number! Yesterday we heard of the first reported death. We can be thankful there weren't many more.

People are saying that we got off fairly lightly, all things considered. We can put much of that down to the fact that since 1980, building codes have ensured that buildings are more cyclone-proof than those built earlier, thus reducing damage to buildings. Sometimes Bureacracy does something RIGHT!

Let's hope I have no more dramas to report! And for those in snow-bound areas over your way, take care, and keep warm!