Yasi
I don't think I will be getting much sleep tonight. A massive cyclone (currently category 4 and expected to intensify overnight) is expected to cross my home town late tomorrow evening or early Thursday morning. I was born and raised in Cairns, and my whole family is there as well as all of my childhood friends. Karl's mother and Grandmother also live there. Since I heard the news I have been on edge, my heart pounding and my hands shaking. For those of you who don't know, a category 5 cyclone is about as bad as it can get, it is expected to bring King tides of four metres and gale force winds of 280km ph. If it does hit Cairns as a category 5, it will be the worst cyclone to hit Queensland since Cyclone Tracy hit in 1974.
Karl's mother works at the hospital and is busy evacuating ICU, dialysis patients and labouring mothers to a Brisbane hospital. My mother and sister have battened down the hatches and have supplies. But I'm terrified. Utterly scared out of my skull. The two cyclones I have been through have luckily dissipated into moonsoon rain or crossed the coast as a category 1 or 2 (relatively mild). But, there is something about this one. Everyone feels it. I don't think it is going to go away. All I can do from my Melbourne location is watch the news, message my mother and sister and pray to some imaginary God that all of my and Karl's family are safe and sound after nature has done it's worst.