I hope that everyone up there is OK and that they prepared for the cyclone. If it is possible to prepare for a storm that strong.
Our hearts go out to the people that are riding out such a storm.

Having had TC Rona go over the top of where I lived in 1999 I can say that most everyone is prepared and hunkered down.  The exhiliration of being underneath a cyclone is tremendous.  The eye is an eery reprieve, millions of leaves falling like confetti and it is easy to forget that the rest of the system is about to hit and continue with the enormous sound of wind shearing horizontally at about tree top height.
If one is not prepared for the intensity of damage and danger one should be as far away as they can get.
The silence of the following days is weird.  Trees on ridges are leafless.  Birds are elsewhere.  People are silent.  The path of flattened trees is astounding.
It is one huge event.

Also experienced the ‘edge’ of a tiny one in Darwin (Rachel I think - was centred over the top of Bathurst/Melville Islands). My boat, moored in the ‘Duck Pond’ fishing vessel marina, was over 45 degrees for about 3 hours with not a shred of rag upper decks.

When will our Governments address climate change instead of always focusing on “the economy” and “jobs, jobs, jobs?” And when will planning regulations take into account sea-level rise?

It is more expensive to do nothing and keep footing the repair bills than actually doing something.

OR does the Government see the aftermath of these disasters purely as “employment opportunities?”

When will Australians force our Governments to get off their arses?

A tragedy of global warming
February 1, 2011

‘In a globally warmed world, the saying will be rewritten:  When it rains, it deluges.  The warmest sea surface temperatures in Australian records have been fueling floods called ‘biblical’ — floods covering an area “the size of France and Germany combined.” ABC News has explained “Raging Waters In Australia and Brazil Product of Global Warming.”

But now, water-logged Queensland is bracing for Category 4 Yasi, which itself is crossing over the warmest waters on record for the region.  Meteorologist and former hurricane hunter Dr. Jeff Masters has the details:

  Tropical Cyclone Yasi continues to intensify as it speeds westwards towards vulnerable Queensland, Australia. Yasi, now a Category 4 storm with 140 mph winds, is under light wind shear of 5 – 10 knots, and over warm ocean waters of 29°C (84°C). The sea surface temperatures over the region of ocean Yasi is traversing (10S – 20S, 145E – 160E) were 1.2°C above average during December, the latest month we have data for from the UK Hadley Center. This is the highest value on record, going back to the early 1900s. Low wind shear and record warm sea surface temperatures will continue to affect Yasi for the next day, and the cyclone should be able to maintain Category 4 strength until landfall Wednesday evening (local time.)
...
Related Posts:

  * Deadly flash flood hits Australia after six inches of rain fell in just 30 minutes:  Scientists see climate change link to Australian floods
  * The year of living dangerously. Masters: “The stunning extremes we witnessed gives me concern that our climate is showing the early signs of instability”; Munich Re: “The only plausible explanation for the rise in weather-related catastrophes is climate change”
  * Hansen:  Would recent extreme “events have occurred if atmospheric carbon dioxide had remained at its pre-industrial level of 280 ppm?” The “appropriate answer” is “almost certainly not.”
  * Australia to cut, delay $500 million of clean-energy funding after record warming-driven floods. Seriously!’

See: http://climateprogress.org/2011/02/01/masters-tropical-cyclone-yasi-flooded-queensland-australia/

TC Yasi caused by climate change: Greens

‘The Australian Greens say Tropical Cyclone Yasi is a “tragedy of climate change”.

The party was heavily criticised after it linked the Queensland floods to climate change and blamed coal miners.

Greens deputy leader Christine Milne says the cyclone is another example of why it is important to cut carbon pollution.

“This is a tragedy, but it is a tragedy of climate change,” she said.

“The scientists have been saying that we are going to experience more extreme weather events, that their intensity is going to increase, their frequency.”’

See: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/02/01/3127184.htm

You can always sense the media’s disappointment when a promised disaster doesn’t materialise. It’s like the “one that got away”. There they were all poised for an exciting few days of hyperbole and breathless gushing and .... nothing. nevermind hacks, there’s always next time.

Jabsert no5.Couldn’t agree more mate.Media wankers