down under

Thanks for your concern, GMC2.  Yeah, While it was rated a category 5, it weakened to a category 1 as it neared landfall and the damage was minimal... as compared to what it could have been.  At Airlie Beach, where Ului crossed the coast, about 30 houses lost their rooves, others had broken windows and up to 60,000 homes have been without power. 

Things could have been considerably worse, but with plenty of advanced warning, many precautions were taken to keep damage to a minimum. As is to be expected, trees and power poles came down in the strong winds, but power has already been restored to several areas and emergency services are pretty much on top of it... 3.00pm Sunday afternoon, Oz time.

As I get/hear any other news I'll update here.

Update: Cyclone Ului has been downgraded to a rain depression and is continuing inland at it weakens. Localised flooding has been experienced in many areas surrounding Airlie Beach and Proserpine, with heavy weather conditions reaching as far as Makay, 400 kms farther South.

Several pleasure craft, yatchs and trawlers have been wasshed ashore... including 'Anaconda", a veteran of the Boxing Day Sydney to Hobart Yatch Race. Anaconda suffered major damage against the rocks and it is not known if she can be salvaged.

All in all, North Queensland dodged a bullet, according to many of its local inhabitants.  On the 6 O'clock new some residents of Proserpine and Airlie Beach were saying that they were expecting the towns to be flattened around them, but were pleasantly surprised to see the damages were far less than expected.

In case anyone's wondering what a cyclone is....it's just a hurricane - but in the Southern hemisphere....;)

Except it's back to front like everything down there

  Here we go!

If that were the case, a cyclone would start inland as a rain depression and end up at sea, thus resulting in less property damage.

Hey...I like that idea! Who's gonna follow up on that (*by default Jafo)

It's also a Roller Coaster in the Southern part of Brooklyn known as Coney Island!

 Oh the memories!!!!

glad everything turned out okay. sounds like one of my night of passion, starts out heavy and strong and then sort of peters out.

Braggart!!!!   I've pretty much forgotten what a night of passion is like.  If I don't fall asleep during the oneplay - like... that's 3 stages before the foreplay - I lose interest after fiveplay.  That's when I have to get up for a pee and forget what I was doing beforehand.

Not to mention that it would suck instead of blow.

It's great to hear that the damage to both people and property is minimal.

Ahhhh!  Now I understand why a former neighbour of mine was nicknaned Reverse Cyclone.... and why she often had a packet of OMO washing powder in her front window.

It's a common way here in Oz to say "On My Own".... or so I'm told.