Tropical cyclone yasi

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

My thoughts are with anyone with relatives in the path of Yasi. It looks truely bad :(

I currently have abc on listening to residents talk about their preps.

It seems to be slowing down a bit which apparently is good because it means that the storm surge won't coincide so much with hight tide but bad because it means that people will be sitting in the wind field for longer.

Yep sticky tape will hold the glass. The biggest dangers to windows are the things flying into them so sticky tape will both reinforce the window and hold the glass in place as it shatters out from the point if impact. Wind won't get under it the way it does hardboard.

We have funky little leaflets with diagrams of how best to sticky your windows, but most places here are equipped with shutters or metals blinds anyway.

ahh thanks for that snap - I know a totally trivial question in light of what's actually happening there right now - but it would have bugged me.

cool, thanks for that Frakkle :) That's really interesting. my only clue has been from watching people prepare for Hurricanes in the US where they seem to do a lot of nailing of things to windows on the news.
I read that modern houses there are much more cyclone proof since cyclone Tracy? I guess the roofs themselves would be vulnerable but the basic structure is very sound????

I guess though if you are right on the coast no amount of proofing will protect against the surge?

OYBBK I (for a split second) misread that as "It seems to be snowing" and just at one level, for that one split second, with the time Queensland's had lately - part of me wasn't surprised...

lol melezka!!!!!!!!! that would be a bit freaky.

I heard earlier (and I don't know if it is true) that the Coral sea temperature is the highest ever recorded. I guess that is contributing to the intensification of this storm.

Fingers crossed for everyone there. It is my worst nightmare

It's il Nina/el Nino isn't it? don't know difference - or really anything much about it...

I have a friend in Cairo too...

Thoughts are with everyone in the area. Hope they all keep safe in the next few hours.

oh :( just power gone out in the largest evacuation centre in Cairns. PA system telling everyone just to stay still. I can't imagine how scary it must be getting.

They've not even reached hurricane force winds yet.

AAArrrggghhhh it's like waiting for someone to have an operation

I live in a very windy part of the country where gales gusting to 100mph are not uncommon but, dear god, 190mph.

The noise must be deafening. Utterly terrifying. Hope it's not as bad as has been predicted.

my goodness - following on from the photo I posted on the BBC news website \link{http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/floodrelief/how-cyclone-yasi-compares-around-the-world/story-fn7ik2te-1225998762870\this story shows what it would look like if that Yasi were over other places in the world}

Apparently the roof of the evac centre in Innisfail has come off with 500 people inside :(

Just had an email from my bil who is in Brisbane. To give you an idea of the size of the storm, he says they reckon if the eye of the storm passes over you, it will take one hour to do so.

And the storm is due to reach Alice Springs which of course is in the middle of the continent.

He is very chipper about it though - typical Aussie.

nikki - not sure if that's a confirmed report yet is it? Hopefully not

Yowzers

How utterly, utterly terrifying.

Thinking of all those people out there - and with loved one out there.

and with loved ones out there too

Apologies that is not confirmed and may just be a load of crap rumour started on the internet. Sorry if I scared anyone :(

just listening to a live interview with a sugar cane farmer in Innisfail, his farm was wiped out in Cyclone Larry a couple of years back, and he'd only just got back on his feet.