Thursday 30 March 2017

'Bye 'Bye TC Debbie

I am sure most Queenslanders would like to see the end of ex-Tropical Cyclone Debbie. She made her presence felt in North Queensland at the beginning of the week and since turning into a rain depression has headed south leaving behind flooding and general mayhem.



 I tried to get a photo of the rain but only ventured as far as the front verandah where it was bucketing down on the Monstera Deliciosa in the nearby garden. I had already been outside in the rain to check the wildlife and take out the wheelie bin so wasn't too keen on getting wet again.

My Northern Hemisphere readers might like to take a look at what one of our cyclones does to the towns on the coastline that are in its path Cyclone Debbie Photos. 

This is what it is doing in the South East of Queensland at the present moment and the worst is still to come according to the weather forecasters.  State schools were closed today and again tomorrow which wasn't a problem for the schools here as today was the show holiday. I doubt that the show would have been a popular place to visit today though. So it is a bit of a wait and see game now to see how the next few hours pan out and I hope and pray that those closer to the coast stay safe.

Also please pray for the recovery operation up north as many homes and businesses have been completely destroyed, power hasn't been restored in some areas and water is running out. The flooded roads have meant that help hasn't been able to get in as yet although some supplies could be flown in I dare say. With no power and air conditioning the humidity would be unbearable and the homes are starting to smell due to the wet carpet and furniture.



 Not knowing what we had ahead of us I took some photos yesterday of a few plants in case they didn't survive the wind but are okay as yet. We have two pawpaw trees that have sprung up around the place and it will be interesting to see if we actually get any fruit although they won't like our winter weather.




They have quite a nice flower. 




The Dragonfruit is almost ready to pick as it is completely pink/red now. I believe it just has to soften a little first. 





The chyrsanthums I received for Mother's Day a few years ago and which I thought had died during the heatwave have reappeared with all the rain and are looking quite cheery. 




Bananas don't keep too well in this weather so I had three huge overripe ones the other day and felt guilty for not using them so had a look for a sourdough recipe for banana bread and came up with this one from Cultures for Health. I used Dextose instead of sugar and also added some cinnamon. It must have tasted alright as my son ate five slices for afternoon tea. Ha ha!

So that's it for now. Hopefully everyone will get through the night without any damage from wind or rain. The rain depression has also moved into northern New South Wales and evacuations have already started down there. It is a huge system and I am sure everyone will breathe a sigh of relief when she heads out to sea. 

Stay safe everyone!


20 comments:

  1. Nana Chel the rain and the wind got a bit scary. I was glad once Debbie moved south of us around 3pm today. We still have wind and the odd passing shower but the worst has passed. Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Northern Rivers are next in line. Hope you missed out on the winds.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jane, things are pretty good here. We just seem to be on the edge of it all on the radar. It looks pretty grim to the east of us though. Apparently the winds will be worse tomorrow.

    ReplyDelete
  3. We had the rain and wind worst around the middle of the day today. We have had roads cut by flooding. Major shopping centres and many businesses closed during the morning. The building I work in had the downstairs front door sandbagged. Our local news advised that we may have more strong winds overnight.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I do hope things improve up there, Sherri. It is only raining lightly here so I doubt we will get much more rain as on the radar it looks like it has moved to NSW.

      Delete
  4. Yes well we may have had only one cyclone in Qld this season, but what a doozy. My cousin is a technical specialist with Telstra in North Qld and he's in Bowen at the moment, one of the huge contingent of folks trying to get things back to normal as fast as possible. Care and prayers to everyone dealing with this trying time. xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Barb, your cousin would be extremely busy at the moment restoring services to that area. It certainly has been a doozy of a cyclone.

      Delete
  5. Replies
    1. Thanks earthmotherwithin. I hope the recovery goes well for those who have sustained damage.

      Delete
  6. I'm glad you are safe and yes my thoughts are with all those involved. My husband is flying home from Brisbane today. We could hear the heavy rain whilst chatting with him last night.

    Take care xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We are fine Kylie. We just had light rain last night as the rain depression moved to the Gold Coast and northern NSW area causing flooding and evacuations there. The sun is trying to come out here so it's all good.

      Delete
  7. You Northerners certainly have some exciting weather up there.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lynda I don't know about exciting. It is still not finished as more flooding is expected next week.

      Delete
  8. It's a lovely, sunny but windy day here today, Chel. Everything looks so fresh after the rain. There was no damage here, just a few small eucalypt branches from next door's tree that blew into our yard. Boy, is our yard soggy though. It squishes and squelches whenever I walk out there. The washing's on the line and in the wind it won't take long to dry. We were really grateful for the rain that filled our tanks but I know there are many for whom the rain caused great difficulty. Hopefully, the clean up and recovery from TC Debbie will proceed quickly...especially for those waiting on insurance claims to repair their homes. Meg

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The damage is so widespread, Meg. Now it looks like Rocky is going to flood next Wednesday as well :-(

      Delete
  9. We didn't get any wind, but we did get a lot of consistent rain. It was moderate - so not light and not heavy. The local weather said we got 56mm yesterday. Which is tiny compared to what the coastal areas received.

    Glad you're all safe up on the mountain. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We got about the same amount of rain Chris. There were a few heavy downpours but it was mainly consistent light rain.

      Delete
  10. Down here in South Aust we're watching the news coverage of TC Debbie with interest and sympathy for those affected. It's difficult to imagine the amounts of rainfall in some of the areas. Chel, you inspired me to bake the banana cake immediately as my wood stove was burning and begging to have something baking in the oven ;) I had sourdough ready to mix some loaves, so I used some of it and the few over ripe bananas with some fresh ground wheat to make up half of the flour content. It's a fabulous dense cake with plenty of flavor. We spread it with butter and are loving it. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad the sourdough banana bread turned out well for you, Sally. As I said I replaced the sugar with Dextrose and also used Atta wholemeal flour. Both loaves have now been consumed :-)

      Delete
  11. Dear Nanna Chel,
    What a week! Like Sally the rainfall seems impossible to us in SA> Our idea of very heavy rainfall is 2 inches. Three would be amazing. So it is honestly hard to imagine! I am glad you are ok there. I have been watching the maps placing everyone I know. And I can see the prices of bananas going crazy! One time before after a big cyclone Bananas got to $19 a kilo. I didn't buy any for over a year. Your Dragonfruit looks spectacular! Everything looks so lush and tropical!
    Gertrude is still getting around now she is off to the USA. She sure likes to travel!
    Have a good new week! With love Annabel.xxx

    ReplyDelete
  12. A nice post Chel.I am really feeling for the people in Rockhampton as that is where I was born, in the 1954 February flood actually, and still have relatives there. A lot of people are still in quite a bit of distress.I am looking forward to returning to Queensland though despite the cooler weather over here. The Banana Bread looks very nice.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks so much for leaving your comments as I love to hear from my readers. As soon as I check them they will be published. If for some reason you have trouble leaving a comment feel free to email me directly by filling out the 'Contact Me' form on the sidebar at the right.

Printfriendly

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...