Severe tropical Cyclone LUA
Submitted: Friday, Mar 16, 2012 at 14:01
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Member - Joe F (WA)
G'day Folks
This is just a very quick post to inform you and anyone intending on travel into or through the
Pilbara region ~ tropical Cyclone Lua is bearing down on the
Pilbara coast as we speak.
Lua is rated as Severe and a catagory 3 system, so its fair dinkum with winds of 175 kmph + and predicted to increase to cat 4.
The cyclone has the potential to demolish most man made structures that it passes over if the structure is not cyclone rated and it is expected to deliver a substantial amount of rain.
The mining industry has many camps housing hundreds of people in some fairly remote
places in the predicted path of this system, I can only guess these camps are being evacuated, as the potential for destruction and death are very real as Cyclone George proved to be a couple of seasons ago.
The inland town sites of
Marble Bar ~
Nullagine ~ Telfer and all inland communities are bracing for a possible catagory 1 system.
Newman residents are also advised to perpare for belting on Saturday night with gale force winds and possibly flooding.
Reply By: Members Pa & Ma. - Friday, Mar 16, 2012 at 18:06
Friday, Mar 16, 2012 at 18:06
Thanks Joe,
Just reading about the cyclone in the news.
For the people who've just moved up into that area our thoughts are with you.
For those of you who have been through many,Good Luck.
It does seem to be going to pack a wind punch further inland than usual.
Do you think the stronger winds will hit
Adelaide River?
Hope it downgrades for you.
Take care.
With best wishes Ma.
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Follow Up By: Member - Joe F (WA) - Friday, Mar 16, 2012 at 18:43
Friday, Mar 16, 2012 at 18:43
G'day Ma,Pa & Gus.
Thanks for the thoughts, I can testify to having to ride out several severe Cyclones over the past 20 odd years in
Newman, none of them can be predicted with any certainty and I guess the next 12 to 24 hours will see to that. What I can say with absolute certainty is that some of the new buildings that have sprung up over the past five or so years are looking rather vulnerable with large free standing carports on skinny legs.
There is an unusual amount of effort going into tying sea containers down in the "construction zones" around town and the SES and the local Constabulary are circulating around the town more than ever.
The ants are exceptionally active and I might have to resort to chemical warfare to keep them out of the house.
The
Jigalong Community which is around 160kms east and in land from
Newman has been put on yellow alert, so the system is predicted to track deep into
the desert region.
Time to go and fill the wheely bin with water, if I don't it may not be here after the blow !
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Follow Up By: Member - Dunworkin (WA) - Saturday, Mar 17, 2012 at 02:17
Saturday, Mar 17, 2012 at 02:17
Cloud Break is the one on my mind at the moment, have got a son up there.
Hope all goes
well for every one.
Cheers
D
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Follow Up By: Members Pa & Ma. - Saturday, Mar 17, 2012 at 15:15
Saturday, Mar 17, 2012 at 15:15
Hi Dunworkn
Hope so Too.
Lua is strengthening. Those permanent
places up there would have to have really good cyclone shelters, especially for the essential staff who must stay behind.
Yesterday I was hoping it would weaken but it hasn't, not much on the news news down here though ,Only Online.
The animals must go crazy.
In one news clip, I watched a bird looking out to sea & a human further up
the beach..I reckon the bird was leaving it a bit late to leave!. Of course it might know something we don't ? or it's an adrenalin junkie.
Bye for now. Ma.
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Follow Up By: wendys - Saturday, Mar 17, 2012 at 15:48
Saturday, Mar 17, 2012 at 15:48
I suspect FMG may have learned a lesson from Cyclone George in 2007, and either ensured Cloudbreak has proper cyclone shelters, or else evacuated. It was FMG's construction
camp near Yandeyarra (RV1) that was wiped out in 2007.
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Follow Up By: Member - Dunworkin (WA) - Sunday, Mar 18, 2012 at 00:07
Sunday, Mar 18, 2012 at 00:07
Spoke to son this morning, he feels confident that the
camp will withstand the force of the cyclone which has now been downgraded to cat 3 and will probably be cat 1 or just a rain baring depression by the time it reaches them. Cloudbreak was getting a fair amount of rain and strong winds this morning so it's only going to get worse I guess.
I agree with you wendys, I'm sure they've learned their lesson from that one but a hard lesson to learn.
Cheers
D
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Follow Up By: get outmore - Sunday, Mar 18, 2012 at 14:44
Sunday, Mar 18, 2012 at 14:44
Highly doubt they learnt any thing except theres no consequences for actions
leaving those people there to die like that,
how people never went to jail over that ill never know
and to set the record straight FMG never took ANY responsability for that - just shifted the blame onto contractors
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Follow Up By: wendys - Sunday, Mar 18, 2012 at 15:21
Sunday, Mar 18, 2012 at 15:21
The official cyclone rating building codes that were in force at the time of building the camps had RV1 located in an area where buildings had to be able to withstand a Category 1 cyclone. The portable accommodation dongas were in fact rated to Category 3. Unfortunately, George was almost a Cat 5. Until quite late in the piece, it was actually forecast to slide down the coast, then it did an abrupt U turn and came onshore.
The day to day administration/operation of the
camp was the responsibility of Spotless
Services, who had managers in place. The
camp was not occupied by FMG staff, per se, but groups of employees of various sub contractors who were building the railway, each with their own bosses. In a sense, there was a spread of authority.
A Category 1 cyclone had already affected Hedland and the
Camp area, over the new year period, and it did no more than make the ground muddy. I suspect that may have created what turned out to be a false sense of security.
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Follow Up By: Members Pa & Ma. - Sunday, Mar 18, 2012 at 15:27
Sunday, Mar 18, 2012 at 15:27
Hi getoutmore,
Your reply to Dunworkin, came thru to me as a member.
I'll probably make a fool of myself again!
Being way down here in S.,W. Vic, we don't hear much from up there.
Obviously something awful but what happened?
Take care, safe travels.
Bye for now Ma.
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Follow Up By: Members Pa & Ma. - Sunday, Mar 18, 2012 at 16:20
Sunday, Mar 18, 2012 at 16:20
Thank you wendys.
Google was my friend & you've enlightened me on how it happened.
Very sad.
Winds change the course of fires down here too & unexpected tragedy also occurs, for the same reasons.
It's so unpredictable.
They have all these inquiries but I don't think they address the main issues
well enough.
Take care, safe travels. Bye for now. Ma.
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Reply By: Member - Joe F (WA) - Sunday, Mar 18, 2012 at 11:51
Sunday, Mar 18, 2012 at 11:51
G'day Folks
Firstly, thank you all for your concern and the best wishes.
I can honestly say that the town of
Newman and the residents have dodged a bullet.
Maria and I were
well awake at midnight, contemplating all sorts of worst case scenarios, should "LUA" lift the roof of the house, hopefully it does not come across as me being blase' ~ but we were prepared to the best of our ability.
Although
Newman is not regarded as being in an official Cyclone corridor they have wandered across the region in the past and no doubt they will come again.
Newman is 400 + Kilometres inland, so the cyclonic winds actually lose intensity as they travel over land.
The wind was fair dinkum at around 125 kmph with a reasonable amount of rain in the gauge, 51mil. This weather system was quick at 30 kmph over land, so it didn't have time to linger and demolish.
At 08:30 this morning ~ we have an official "All Clear"
Safe travels:
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Follow Up By: get outmore - Sunday, Mar 18, 2012 at 16:57
Sunday, Mar 18, 2012 at 16:57
looks like my od worksite copped a direct hit. The old Blue Spec
Mine. We narrowly missed copping it from George which was lucky as its just a 20 year
old mine camp with no way out once the
Nullagine river flows
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