I was born in 1992, since then, there have been 6 or 7 disaster events in the Herbert River District – being either a flood or cyclone. We have little tornados here, but their little wirley winds in cane paddocks once the cane has just been cut, but their not actually major disasters… Until it blows crap in your eye! Am I right!
Growing up, there was nothing more exciting being at school on days when it starts to flood – when the kids who go on the busses get to go early – First Abergowrie and Mutarnee kids, then all the beach kids – Taylor’s Beach, Halifax, Lucinda and Forrest Beach kids, than the kids whose parents pick them up in the same order.
I was one of the last kids at school as we lived just out of town, on the south side of Ingham. The kids these days wouldn’t be able to get up to half the stuff our generation got away with. Riding motorbikes & quad bikes, driving cars and tractors up the highway as the highway is cut at Andy’s Roadhouse and Cattle Creek. It was the most exciting thing ever.
I don’t think many kids understand how serious it could be, Cyclone Yasi in early 2011 was nothing compared to the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami – Not one, but two natural disasters in one hit! Those poor bastards! Yasi was a party compared to that. The story goes that a magnitude-9.3 temblor struck undersea off the west coast of Sumatra on December 26, 2004, creating a massive tsunami that killed people in 14 separate countries. The death toll is said to be somewhere between 230,000 and 280,000 people. I can’t even be able to think about something like that happening here.
Click here to check out the top 11 deadly natural disasters in history…
There’s nothing like a good ‘safe’ flood party, where all the people in your area get together at a chosen house, kids play on their toys and stay up until they drop – literally. The adults drink till their heart’s content or until they are up on the table singing! Hey! there’s nothing wrong with that… Don’t judge if you haven’t tried it and don’t judge if you have! Because you know it’s awesome being the life of the party… That outgoing soul who’s hopefully here for a long time and they’re here for a good time!
The drive through and BWS must love that time just after a flood warning has been issued… I swear they would sell as much as they sell in six months if more! Make sure you go to woolies first but… there may or may not be any bread or milk. I’ve only lived in the center of town for one flood, I don’t know which I like better. We ended up at our neighbours and I had a ball! I guess you just need a good atmosphere surrounding you, a carton of Northerns and some country music! – Like the Spotify playlist Chillin’ on a dirt road…
In our district, it’s not unheard of for people who live near creeks or waterways, or anywhere really, to come across a crocodile or two! They are everywhere now! But… that’s another discussion – an anger fueled discussion we will have on a later date.
Ingham’s the sort of place where the world stops… not often, but when it floods we reset. Businesses close down as many business people A break from work, you become a more laid back parent, you become lighter.
Aquo Xx