Hervey Bay Gossip

As Tropical Cyclone Larry heads inland from Innisfail the Weather Bureau has announced that another Tropical Cyclone has formed approximately 2,000 km east of the Queensland coast. It is currently following the same path as Tropical Cyclone Larry.

The final update on Tropical Cyclone Larry can be found here.

Tropical Cyclone Larry has now passed over Innisfail and the extent of the damage is beginning to become apparent.

The Mayor of the Johnstone Shire says that Tropical Cyclone Larry has been as bad as any cyclone in living memory and suggests that the amount of destruction can be gauged by comparing it to the damage done to Darwin when Cyclone Tracy devastated that city.

Trees are uprooted, houses unroofed and some are described as just a shell. Crops have also been flattened and roads, including the Bruce Highway, have been cut.

Even residents of Cairns, on the edge of Tropical Cyclone Larry, are reporting that the trees have been stripped and debris is everywhere.

At 11am this morning the Bureau of Meteorology advised that a Tropical Cyclone Warning is now current for inland areas over the Atherton Tablelands and extending west to near Normanton. The cyclone warning for coastal parts between Cape Tribulation and Ingham is now cancelled.

At 10.30am Tropical Cyclone Larry was situated about 100km west of Innisfail and 55km southwest of Mareeba and is expected to continue in a westerly direction at 25 to 30 km/h.

Further updates on Tropical Cyclone Larry can be found here.

Tropical Cyclone Larry crossed the coast near Innisfail at approximately 7.30 am this morning. At that point Tropical Cyclone Larry had dropped back to being a Category 4 but extreme gusts of destructive wind up to 250 km/h were occurring between Ingham and Port Douglas.

Gales were being experienced over the remaining coastal areas within the warning area from Cape Tribulation to Townsville and extending inland to near Normantown.

You will find a brief outline of Innisfail here.

Further updates on Tropical Cyclone Larry can be found here.

At 5.45am this morning the Bureau of Meteorology announced that Severe Tropical Cyclone Larry is now rated as a Category 5.

At that time the cyclone was approiximately 50km east of Innisfail and heading in a generally westerly direction at 25 km/h. Wind gusts of up to 290km/h are expected around the core of the cyclone and the core is expected to cross the coast sometime after 7am this monring.

A Tropical Cyclone Warning is now current for coastal and island communities from Cape Tribulation down to Bowen and extending inland to near Normanton.

A Tropical Cyclone Watch is current for the southeast coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria between Burketown and the mouth of the Gilbert River.

For a thumbnail sketch of Innisfail, the town about to take a direct hit from Tropical Cyclone Larry, go here

As Tropical Cyclone Larry continued its westward march towards the Queensland coast preparations for the ensuing disaster moved into top gear.

The army moved it’s Black Hawk helicopters out to Hughenden to keep them clear of the storm and ready to respond the moment it was safe to do so. For what is believed the first time ever the Premier of Queensland declared a disaster situation before the cyclone hit and so gave police and emergency services the right to force people to leave their homes and move to a place of safety.

The executive director of Counter Disaster and Rescue Services was quite blunt when he warned last night:

“There is going to be destruction - we are very certain this cyclone will not peter out.”

At 5am this morning the Bureau of Meteorology was forecasting a direct hit on Innisfail with strong gales as far south as Townsville and beyond.

It appears that the remaining lane on Boat Harbour Drive will be closed between Ann Street and Elizabeth Street from this morning as road works continue.

If that is the case then traffic heading towards Urangan will be directed down into the back streets between Boat Harbour Drive and The Esplanade.

Further updates on Tropical Cyclone Larry can be found here.

At 3.46 this morning Severe Tropical Cyclone Larry, still rated as a Category 4, was centred in the Coral Sea approximately 100km east of Innisfail and was moving in a generally westerly direction at about 25km/h.

The Bureau of Meteorology warns that Severe Tropical Cyclone Larry poses a very serious threat to live and property and is expected to cross the coast near Innisfail between 7am and 9am this morning. Gales have alred been experienced along the exposed coast and destructive winds are expected to commence along the coast between Ingham and Port Douglas in the next hour or so.

Coastal residents between Cardwell and Cairns are warned of the dangerous storm tide as the cyclone crosses the coast.

Severe Tropical Cyclone Larry will move further inalnd during the day. The cyclone is expected to gradually weaken as it does so but gusts up to 180km/h are expected as it crosses the Atherton Tablelands. These gusts should drop to 140 km/h as the cyclone moves further inland and over the Northern Goldfields.

A preliminary flood warning has been issued for coastal rivers between Innisfrail and Mackay.

The warning between Bowen and Mackay has been cancelled

Further updates on Tropical Cyclone Larry can be found here and here.

In the latest release from the Bureau of Meteorology issued at 11.16am Tropical Cyclone Larry has been upgraded to a category 4 and transmitters in the area Cape Flattery to Mackay are requested to use the Standard Emergency Warning Signal.

At 10am the cyclone was approximately 540kms east of Innisfail and is expected to intensify and move in a generally westerly direction at about 25 to 30 km/h. By the time the cyclone croses the coast maximum wind gusts reaching 280km/h are expected near the centre of the cyclone.

Coastal residents between Cairns and Townsville are specifically warned of the dangerous starm tide as the cyclone crosses the coast and people between Cape Flattery and Mackay should complete all preparations before nightfall.

It seems that Indian Call Centre workers can’t understand Australians because our accent is too broad. Man have you ever tried understanding an Indian Call Centre worker?

It also seems that we’re stressing them out with the way we respond to them - I guess they could always try to ease that stress but not calling us and trying to sell us things that we don’t really want.

edited to remove a dead link

Researchers at the University of Calgary in Canada have successfuly grown insulin producing cells in a lab and so opened up the possibility of transplanting those cells into the bodies of Type 1 diabetes sufferers.

There is a long way to go but there is now some hope for people who suffer from Type 1 diabetes that injections may one day no longer be necessary.

The full story is here.