The calm before the storm

It has been a weekend of intense speculation. With an ear to the radio (and the help of the internet), we have been tracking the progress of Severe Tropical Cyclone Larry, currently a couple of hundred kilometres off Innisfail, 250 km north of Townsville. Radio updates have had us on a 'Tropical cyclone Watch' up until today, when this was upgraded to a Warning. Larry is a category 4 cyclone, the same as 'Althea' which devastated Townsville in the early 1970s. It is being described as the most severe cyclone to threaten north Queensland for 35 years. While over the ocean, it continues to intesify, central pressure is currently 935 hectopascals, dropping from 950 earlier today. Much lower than this and he will be classed as a category 5, the highest rating possible.

We ducked out to get some tape to reinforce windows, some cat food and some other canned food for use in the (probable) event of power failure in the next couple of days. What would normally be a 10 minute shopping trip to the local Bilo lasted over an hour as the queues for the checkouts extended the full length of every aisle, from the front of the shop to the back! Shelves that once were stocked with UHT milk, baked beans, batteries and bread are now completely bare, and back up stock has been snapped up as well. (most of the larger supermarkets up here don't open on Sundays so the smaller Bilos and IGAs made a killing, and many people are probably having to go without some supplies!).

It is eerily quiet outside; the storm clouds are brewing, but the air is still, only the occasional very gentle whisp of a breeze stirrs the leaves on the trees. Each time there is some movement I wonder if this is the beginning of the big blow, but so far the breeze has faded back to stillness.
We are to expect heavy rains and gale forced winds from midnight tonight, with a likely 'storm surge' of flooding over the next 48 hours. At this stage the eye of the storm is not headed our way, but we are waiting with baited breath, hoping that Larry shows no signs of a last minute left hand turn, which would put us directly in his path. Areas north of here have already started evacuating.
The radio and TV have just started broadcasting the familiar siren sound (same as the bushfire one I heard in victoria), warning us to continue preparations, secure our belongings and batten down the hatches.
With the global natural disasters of the last 18 months, it is easy to imagine the worst, though we never expect these things to happen to us!
And maybe it won't.
Please pray for the safety of everyone in the north over the next week, and I'll try to keep you posted...................................