Posted on 03/29/2006 4:52:42 PM PST by blam
Australia battens hatches again
Glenda's effects are expected to be felt sometime on Thursday
Australia is bracing for its second major cyclone in two weeks as a storm with winds of around 280km/h (175mph) headed for its western coast. Cyclone Glenda was expected to hit north-west Australia's Pilbara coastline late on Thursday.
A major iron ore port on the Pilbara coast has sent its ships out to calmer waters, and the 10,000 residents of the coastline are preparing their houses.
Australia's north-east is still recovering from Cyclone Larry.
That storm, which hit the state of Queensland, caused no fatalities but left a damage bill which is expected to top AU$1bn (US$707m).
A weather forecaster told ABC radio on Wednesday that Cyclone Glenda's current wind speeds were similar to that of Larry's prior to it hitting the coast.
"It is a very large system, one of the strongest cyclones we have seen off our Australian coastline," Gavin Edmonds said.
Getting ready
Australia's bureau of meteorology warned that the storm's effects might be felt even before it hit land.
"Residents of the central and west Pilbara coast are warned of the risk of very destructive winds... during Thursday as this very dangerous cyclone nears the coast," it said in a statement.
Vic Justice, harbour master at the mining community of Dampier, said residents were preparing.
"Everybody's been busy lashing down, tidying up, putting things away and getting ready for the cyclone," he told the Associated Press news agency.
Global mining giant Rio Tinto has halted its iron ore shipping operations on the coast ahead of Glenda, Australia's Daily Telegraph reported.
"At this stage we are in full tie-down at the ports, which means basically we have sent all our ships out to sea and stopped all operations at the port," a Rio Tinto spokeswoman said.
BUSH'S FAULT!
Don't you think its silly to blame President Bush for a storm in Australia?
If he had only signed Kyoto.
< sarcasm>
Prayers up for our friends "down under"!
yeah but somebody will
Well, I think if they can survive the winds, the rain will probably be welcomed. Australia is very, very dry.
This storm has weakened a great deal and won't make landfall remotely near 175 mph (one odd thing about Australia is their Bureau of Meteorology emphasizes max gusts while we emphasize sustained winds, as well).
Only hurricanes are Bush's fault.
Oh Boy...looks those down under are getting it. I understand that this part of Australia is pretty much deserted...very sparse....very few folks along with very few structures...so it'll be nominal in damage.
I think there is some type of specialty farming in that area.
| Posted by backhoe to John Semmens; All On Bloggers & Personal 03/10/2006 4:33:18 AM EST · 6 of 7  -- soon, we will control the Universe:
|
No way! He's doing it to remove the chocholate from the vanilla fudge city who....Ahh.... I forget, but its something to do with ice cream and oreos, or some such thing, but ITS ALL HIS FAULT!
Is there a chocolate city there?
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