Yasi

Early 2nd Feb - watching and waiting

Sitting here a day after cyclone Yasi arrived close to Cooktown, the kids are upset that they didn't feel the full force of the Grade 5 cyclone!!!!!!! Personally I am relieved, although after so much preparation and bunkering down for a whole day with buckets and baths filled with water, having moved all our 'precious' belongings to our friends safer house and and taped up and cleared up our own house, the absolute lack of anything was a little bit of a let down.


Cooktown has to be one of the windiest places in Australia - during the dry season here the wind whips through here and the house groans and shudders constantly. I think its great because it keeps the heat and humidity away but if you dont like constant whistling wind then Cooktown is probably not for you.  So Yasi was a weird experience - all ready for it to let rip and there was less wind and rain yesterday/last night than there has been today or will be tomorrow. 
Anyway it was a great experience in what to do to prepare and our one failing was lack of battery operated radio, if the power had gone out. I twittered long into the night watching some guy in Cairns who updated every few seconds or so - fascinating this whole social media thing - up to date reports to the moment and a very real sense of community and personal experience rather than being fed the media dirge. One tweeter put it nicely - the worst thing to land on FNQ was not Yasi but the seething media of Today and A Current Affair. Too right!