notes on surviving a cyclone—that never was
the diary entries on cyclone alfred
Dearest gentle reader,
The start of March has been spectacularly ominous. At the start of the month, Brisbane witnessed something unusual, even by the standards of Brisbane weather.
Cyclone Alfred—Alfie, as some Aussies would call it—hit Queensland shore. Some 50 years ago, Cyclone Althea, a category three cyclone, hit Queensland and almost flattened much of the Townsville area. But that is now a memory—and most of the Queenslanders were not even privy to it.
March 5, Wednesday.
Soon after the news of Cyclone Alfred’s landing on the shores of Brisbane was made known, the panic had set in across the city.
Young and old people huddled through alleys of supermarket lanes to purchase water bottles, canned food, beer bottles, and other essential stuff. Within hours, the shelves in Coles and Woolies were empty. I and my other flatmates hopped onto a bus three times just to buy water bottles, milk, and other survival things.
Soon that evening, we filled all empty water bottles and other kitchen utensils with water; buckets and bowls were filled with water, too. We also cleaned our balconies. The chairs and tables were moved to the garage. Garbage bins were cleared out and put in the garage. And, at the end of the day, we declared our flat to be cyclone-ready. I have never witnessed a cyclone myself. I have not had much information about what a cyclone feels like.
My Chinese flatmate, however, was left undeterred. Her province, she declared, witnesses typhoons year-long, so this cyclone is not a big deal. I have only fleetingly heard and read about the effects of the 2004 cyclone throughout the Indian Ocean.
But personally, I have never come across a cyclone. So, I was in panic mode, too. My place of stay has a history of flash flooding and riverine flooding because I stay very close to the Brisbane River. So, there was definitely the scare of floods and the water seeping inside our flat.
Roland (my PhD advisor) and Ollie (a PhD friend) asked me to go to their place in case things turn out bad. But I wanted to take a chance with this cyclone. I never faced something like this and wanted to wade through this crisis.
March 6, Thursday.
Today, we stayed locked in our rooms. There was some rain all day. But there were not many storm-like effects.
There was some wind, too. The weather has gotten humid, too. So, it is just too confusing as the weather. It might perhaps be the calm before the storm. The news says that the effect of the cyclone on the Gold Coast is already brutal. Power lines are gone. There is widespread destruction. No loss of lives as such. But storms seem to be hitting the shores of Gold Coast. In Brisbane, however, the cyclone is still category two—and its effects still to be seen.
Cyclone is expected to hit tonight. It has been too boring to stay in a room all day. You open the phone. Watch the news. See where the cyclone is at. And then, read some news. And then, sleep. And wake up and watch the news. And watch some movies. And keep your laptop and phone in charge while the power lasts. And sleep.
March 7, Friday.
Alfie is now expected to hit in the early mornings of Saturday. It is the same as usual. Breakfast seems to be just overnight oats, and dinner is some eggs. Scrambled and boiled.
Besides that, life has gotten even more boring. Nothing new to do. I could not read anything without Cyclone's panic. I sit on my chair for a while. Then, I will be on the sofa for another hour and on the bed for the rest of the day. So, now, onto Saturday.
Thankfully, despite the incessant rain tonight, no flooding in my area.
March 8, Saturday.
I woke up today with a funny feeling. The first thing I checked was the news. Cyclone Alfred had already become an ex-cyclone by the time it hit Brisbane's shores. By morning, the cyclone was downgraded from Category 2 to Category 1 and, later, to Tropical Low.
Wow, I am amazed at how much I have learned about cyclones in these last few days. How they work, what to do when they hit, and what their intensities are, among other things. Now, just as I wake up, I go to the Kitchen and look at the number of water bottles we hoarded just in case.
There is some rain, however.
March 9, Sunday.
Well, it looks like I was wrong yesterday about the Cyclone. Today, it rained heavily. Incessantly. It poured like cats and dogs. Even as I write, I hear the downpours. It feels really bad suddenly. It might flood tonight. But I will be fine since we are on the second floor.
My friend’s place is already flooded in St. Lucia. The water had seeped through from the floors. And they had to stay up briefly to sweep their floors. I watched this lovely movie: The Boys on the Boat. I also did some reading now today.
I read Zachary Schag’s The Princeton Guide to Historical Research. I should read some chapters again while organising my chapters later on :)
Well, now, it’s been two days since Sunday. Today, I went to see if there was any water in and around my area. Some 500 meters from my place, a tall tree had fallen to the ground—and besides that, there was not much impact in my area. Thankfully!
This is, perhaps, everything I wanted to write in this newsletter, dearest gentle reader. I will write again with something interesting over the period.
My kindest regards,
Adarsh.