This week, while under cyclone (Alfred) watch I had quite a bit of time to reflect and noted that in the blink of an eye (yes, I was thinking about the eye of the cyclone) more than a decade has flown by since the passing of my dad.
In fact, as I delved deeper in this reflection, I realized that it’s been almost 40 years since my mum passed away… As well, Zach and Sam are now adults and have their own lives to live as we’re separated by oceans, continents and time. It feels insane that their childhood years are now well and truly behind them, yet life goes on.
I find it amazing that under some level of duress (cyclone) that your mind goes to the important things in your life with clearly family is number one priority. Even with these important thoughts it doesn’t take much to bring you back to reality and refocus on the dilemma in front of you when you feel the house shudder beneath you as gale force winds pound and shriek around the outside of your home, all the while listening for noises that don’t sound right…
Last night, the day after the cyclone is actually when we experienced the full force of mother nature. Starting around 7:00 pm we began experiencing 100+ kph winds and driving rain (coming at us sideways) with the force of the wind. This lasted over twelve hours and was scary to say the least, particularly with the wind shrieking so loudly it was hard to have a conversation.
We’ve been lucky in that so far; we haven’t lost power or had any real damage to our home but are mindful of the ongoing dangers of this now stalled tropical low sitting just a few kilometres north of us.
The ex-tropical cyclone is continuing to churn without much movement, I can almost feel it brooding malevolently just off the coast and spiralling while it decides what it wants to do next. It’s definitely been an unusual experience, as the cyclone itself first formed in the Coral Sea near the Solomon Islands in mid-February. Over the course of the last three weeks has slowly made its way down parallel to the Queensland coastline all the while keeping itself offshore some 500 – 600 kms.
Then this past week the warmth of the Pacific Ocean began to pull it inexorably toward the coast. To be clear, south-east Queensland hasn’t experienced a cyclone in the past 50 years, so just another reminder of the extreme global weather patterns we’re experiencing.
I think the worst hit areas were south of us around the Gold Coast and Northern New South Wales where the wind, tide and flood waters conspired to take out the power for some 350,000 homes and endanger the lives of many… Some parts of the storm ravaged area have received over 1 meter (3 feet) of rain over a four-day period.
As you can imagine this weather event will have far reaching consequences as the massive clean up begins. The power crews and emergency workers are continuing their massive job of restoring power and ensuring that those flooded in are rescued.
I truly feel for the residents of the Northern rivers region of NSW as they experienced extreme flooding back in 2022 for which many were just getting back on their feet before this latest weather event.
In retrospect this last week has been a test of our resilience, especially given that we were essentially given a week to prepare for the inevitable cyclone. From stocking up at the super market where panic buying was on full display (always surprised that toilet paper is one of the first things to go), to the outdoor preparation in terms of moving and storing outside furniture and securing any items that may have become projectiles in the gale force winds.
And while I was busy with these physical tasks, my mind was focused on the things that are important in my life – Judy, Zach and Sam. I suppose it’s a natural thing when faced with some short-term uncertainty. Right up until the event we were unsure as to the ferocity of the cyclone nor the power of what it could do.
I think the worst part, other than the actual moments that it hit was the anticipation and waiting that we all endured. We literally had days to sit and contemplate, make sure we were prepared and do some more waiting. You can only check and double check so many times before you’re convinced that you’ve done all you can do to prepare.
This lull precipitated this prolonged bout of self-reflection and unearthed doubts and concerns about what we were about to face. And whether we will admit it to ourselves, there is always a few moments of “what if’s” that we deal with such as “what if the cyclone is catastrophic and something happens to us”.
I endeavoured to text and call Zach and Sam regularly to keep them in the loop and sent them links to the Bureau of Meteorology so they could observe and track the cyclones progress, but I also didn’t want to burden them our situation. Isn’t it strange how universally parents don’t want to worry or burden their kids with the truth of what’s actually going on, and by somehow protecting them from the truth will make it better or easier for them.
It never does…
Clearly, you don’t want to them to be overly worried but at the same time they do need to be part of the conversation and understand the situation that you’re in and all the possible outcomes and scenarios you may face together…
Until next week.
Ciao!
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