Kiwi Phil
Commander
- Joined
- Jun 23, 2003
- Messages
- 2,182
What a week.
Sunday 4pm young Hayden tells me there is a storm warning on TV.
I had just finished posting a reply to QC's fire thread.
Look at the radar and sure enough, a bad one is come from the west moving SE and going to pass S of us.
I hoped we would get some rain, so went out and transferred water between the big tanks so they could catch the max.
5pm the sky turns green, and it is coming from the SE moving to the NW.....it was on us immediately.
Apparently the 1st storm passed over the city, then out to sea, and met another storm coming in the opposite direction.
We got what they call a storm shear.
It was unreal....we got 6" of rain in under 15mins, (at that point the gauge took off) and wind was apparently 130kph, constant.
Lasted for about 1 hr.
The downpipes couldn't cope....constant sheet of water came off the gutters.
Anita and I were in the carport watching it.....you could hear the debris from the Gum trees flying thru the air....but you couldn't see them for the wall of rain....just hear the deafening roar.
In the city, (the nice 'leafy' suburbs with trees everywhere) the 1st storm completely destroyed (they say) 80 homes, and severely damaged 3,000 others.
Here the only homes damaged were those that people had gum trees close to the houses.
Neighbors got a limb thru the garage and bedroom.
Gum trees don't bend...they just smash anything they land on.
Power was off for 48hrs, telephone more.
The property came thru ok...water (small amount thru one ceiling) taken 5 days to straighten everything up...my losses aren't bad.
The dam hasn't been full since 1999, and now it is, and the back wall has slumped a bit, but maybe still 12" above the slipway trench, and if the bxggar collapses, I don't care.
Then Tuesday night, we got another....different type....I was so tired and dirty (humidity high, little hot water, long hrs working, sick of candle-lit BBQ food) we just went to bed and decided, if the roof takes off, we will know when we get wet.
We got another 6" of rain, but to the west they got 12" (300mml) in 2 hrs....devastation is shocking going by the TV.....
We have been told to expect another tomorrow.
One worker got 12" thru her house (it is a highset....house on top, laundry and garages below.....but they partitioned it off for an office, bedroom etc)....apparently a mess down stairs....water came down the driveway, filled the place up as nowhere but the laundry door to exit by.
Other 3 workers had minor damage....rain was horizontal so came under doors, up under window flashings....but they were home and cleaned it up before it damages wall linings and furniture.
Don't get me wrong....I am not grizzling, especially when I think of what parts of the US have had, and what Ladyfish is dealing with.
Cheers
Phillip
Sunday 4pm young Hayden tells me there is a storm warning on TV.
I had just finished posting a reply to QC's fire thread.
Look at the radar and sure enough, a bad one is come from the west moving SE and going to pass S of us.
I hoped we would get some rain, so went out and transferred water between the big tanks so they could catch the max.
5pm the sky turns green, and it is coming from the SE moving to the NW.....it was on us immediately.
Apparently the 1st storm passed over the city, then out to sea, and met another storm coming in the opposite direction.
We got what they call a storm shear.
It was unreal....we got 6" of rain in under 15mins, (at that point the gauge took off) and wind was apparently 130kph, constant.
Lasted for about 1 hr.
The downpipes couldn't cope....constant sheet of water came off the gutters.
Anita and I were in the carport watching it.....you could hear the debris from the Gum trees flying thru the air....but you couldn't see them for the wall of rain....just hear the deafening roar.
In the city, (the nice 'leafy' suburbs with trees everywhere) the 1st storm completely destroyed (they say) 80 homes, and severely damaged 3,000 others.
Here the only homes damaged were those that people had gum trees close to the houses.
Neighbors got a limb thru the garage and bedroom.
Gum trees don't bend...they just smash anything they land on.
Power was off for 48hrs, telephone more.
The property came thru ok...water (small amount thru one ceiling) taken 5 days to straighten everything up...my losses aren't bad.
The dam hasn't been full since 1999, and now it is, and the back wall has slumped a bit, but maybe still 12" above the slipway trench, and if the bxggar collapses, I don't care.
Then Tuesday night, we got another....different type....I was so tired and dirty (humidity high, little hot water, long hrs working, sick of candle-lit BBQ food) we just went to bed and decided, if the roof takes off, we will know when we get wet.
We got another 6" of rain, but to the west they got 12" (300mml) in 2 hrs....devastation is shocking going by the TV.....
We have been told to expect another tomorrow.
One worker got 12" thru her house (it is a highset....house on top, laundry and garages below.....but they partitioned it off for an office, bedroom etc)....apparently a mess down stairs....water came down the driveway, filled the place up as nowhere but the laundry door to exit by.
Other 3 workers had minor damage....rain was horizontal so came under doors, up under window flashings....but they were home and cleaned it up before it damages wall linings and furniture.
Don't get me wrong....I am not grizzling, especially when I think of what parts of the US have had, and what Ladyfish is dealing with.
Cheers
Phillip
