Word: innisfail
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...been taken.'' Aden was sure he was going to die. "Don't let me go, Dad. Hold on,'' he begged, as he felt the wind pulling at him. For half an hour, the family huddled on the floor, until Larry's 40-km-wide eye suddenly arrived over Innisfail. It was about 7 a.m. Karl screamed frantically for his wife and was amazed when she screamed back. They ran to a neighbor's low-slung brick house to wait out the rest of the storm...
...Larry was the third cyclone to land a direct hit on Innisfail in the past century. In 1918, 37 townspeople died; in 1986, Tropical Cyclone Winifred left three dead. And there may be worse to come: some believe changes to the Earth's climate system are boosting the ferocity of tropical cyclones. Says Melbourne-based climate expert Professor Ian Simmonds: "Progressively you are creating an environment which is going to encourage more intense cyclones. In terms of statistics they are becoming less frequent but more intense.'' Simmonds and Brazilian scientist Alexandre Pezza last year published a groundbreaking paper arguing global...
...Belvedere, on the other side of Innisfail, Bruce Crausaz was confident his squat solid-brick home would easily withstand the gale-force winds - until he saw his wall-mounted television spear towards him. The heavy set catapulted him onto the floor. Rain pelted down on him. The roof was gone. Crausaz crawled out of the kitchen and in terror grabbed a plastic bucket, which he put over his head. For the next 40 minutes he half-knelt, half-lay on the floor with the bucket on his head, tightly gripping the door. "I know it wouldn't have stopped much...
...When Larry finally departed Innisfail about 10 a.m., it left a smear of destruction more than 60 km wide. One man was dead and dozens injured; property damage was estimated at more than $A1 billion; tens of thousands of hectares of bananas, sugar cane and other crops were flattened; more than 100,000 homes in north Queensland were left without electricity; hundreds are homeless. The federal government announced a $A100 million relief package, and former Defence Force chief General Peter Cosgrove has been put in charge of the reconstruction effort. Some 450 State Emergency Services personnel have joined 300 soldiers...
...week's end, Cyclone Wati, formed in Larry's wake, was stirring up waves as it tracked southeast, parallel to the Queensland coast. Meteorologists said it was unlikely to hit land, which is some comfort to the people of Innisfail. As Jenny Hocke says, "It's something I don't think we could ever go through again.'' It may be a long time before Innisfail suffers again; but there are ominous signs it may be struck even harder next time...