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Published: March 3rd 2011
When we realised that we would be in Cairns when Cyclone Yasi was due to pass over we tried really hard to get out. Mum tried to get flights but they were so expensive that it was not possible and we were told that if we drove, because the cyclone was 400kms wide, we could end up driving right into it. The only option was to stay put and hope that there would be a safe place for us to hide from the storm.
On the morning that they cyclone was due everybody was getting really worried because they had upgraded the category of the cyclone to a force 5. This meant that this would be one of only about 18 force 5 cyclones to hit land ever. We were told that we had to go to an evacuation center as soon as we could. We were lucky that there was one just up the road. It was a huge concrete convention center. Although none of the buildings here had been tested against a category 5 cyclone we knew that it would take a lot to blow over this building.
When we got to the evacuation center we were
given blankets and told to pick a spot on the floor. We had to sign a register to say which room we were in and were told to expect to be there for up to 3 days. I was very nervous and so was mum as we did not really know anyone.
In our room there were over 300 people. Most of them were Chinese and they did not speak English. It must have been really scary for them. I made some really good friends with some Australian girls called Sia and Nicki. It was nice to have someone to play with. It was actually quite a boring day and we went outside quite a lots to see all the winds getting stronger and stronger. About 4 oclock a man came and told us that the winds would hit about 11 oclock that night but the worst of the cyclone had moved further south so we were no longer right in the middle of the eye of the storm. Everyone seemed very happy at this. All the Chinese people stood up and sang a lot of songs.
I played with my friends until about 10 oclock when we
were told to go to sleep. I slept though all the winds but mum said that was good and it was really noisy. When we woke up at 7 in the morning there was lots of rain and everyone was in a hurry to get outside and see the damage. We were not allowed out until lunch time until they had checked that all the roads were safe and there were no power lines down that could hurt us.
It was still very windy when we walked back to the hotel. There were lots and lots of trees damaged and lots of stones and tin and things in the road but everyone said that we had been really lucky and that it could have been much worse. At least the building did not fall down. It was only after a day or so when we watched all the television stories that we knew how lucky we were when we saw lots and lots of places nearby destroyed.
After the winds came the rain. There was no food anywhere as there was no power and no shops open. That night we heard that there was a place with a
generator that had food so we went to find some with friends we met in the evacuation center. It was a mile from the hotel. While we were there it started to rain and thunder and lightening. In just a few minutes you could see that everywhere was flooding. We decided to wait and see if it would pass. Within an hour the water was very high and surrounding the restaurant. We eventually managed to get a taxi but he had to stop and we had to get out near the hotel as the water was flooding the road. The water was up to my waist as the two creeks on either side of the road flooded. Mum tried to link arms with me and my friends so we would not get washed away. Someone started shouting to run. It was really scary and we were all very frightened. When we made it through the water the man from the hotel said that we had to run because there were crocodiles and snakes in the creek water.... mum said it had been a very bad day!
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Bernadette Lawson
non-member comment
Cyclone Yasi
Hi Nia, My name is Bernadette Lawson and I live in Townsville, Australia. I am compiling a book of personal stories from every aspect of Cyclone Yasi. I found your story to be most interesting and would like to speak with you further on possibly contributing to this book. I can be contacted at cblawson1@bigpond.com. I'll look forward to hearing from you. Warm Regards Bernadette