Cyclone Olwyn Satellite Image
Having decided to spend the majority of the cyclone season in Exmouth, we always knew there was a chance that we may get caught in the middle of one!
Early on the morning of March Friday 13th (spooky) this became a reality!
Backtracking a few days.. It was early one morning (possibly the Monday before the cyclone hit.) We was listening to the radio when we heard of a possible cyclone building in the ocean. If it formed, it looked to be headed directly our way!! Argh!!!
Now I will admit I wasn't too concerned at this stage as this was the 3rd time this season, I had heard of Cyclone possibly headed our way. I knew that even if it did form, there was a good chance of it changing direction or dying off before it hit Exmouth anyway.
As the days went by we listened out to all the local warnings and chatted to the many locals we knew around Exmouth to get their thoughts on this possible cyclone.
We soon realised that if this cyclone was going to form and follow its predicted path, then we would have to drive an extremely long distance to get out of its path! This cyclone was looking like it could follow the coast as far down Geraldton, a good 800km away! (Even if we was to drive that far, we was risking being out in the open in some pretty heavy winds and rain!) Heading inland or North of Exmouth wasn't a option either as most roads were closed due to flooding anyway.
We decided the safest option was to stay put. We then made arrangements to store our caravan and car in a secure shed just incase it looked like it would hit us.
Headed straight for us!
By Wednesday we was told the news that Cyclone Olwyn had officially been born!
At this stage we was looking at a strong Category 2, and it was still headed directly for us! Sitting on Blue Alert we was told to pack up our caravan and be ready to leave the Caravan park early Thursday morning. By then we would be on Yellow Alert.
I spent the majority of Wednesday stocking up on food supplies and packing up our caravan. The vibe around town was upbeat and abuzz with people out and about preparing their homes and the town for the upcoming impact of Olwyn.
That night I didn't get much sleep. I made the fatal error of checking the latest update at 2am and saw that they had upgraded Olwyn to a destructive category 3!! Eeeeekkk....
There was not a breath of wind in the air that night and as I laid there in the eerie silence, I found it hard to imagine that the following night it was going to be completely different with destructive winds and rain keeping me awake.
As soon as the sun was up on Thursday, we set about moving the caravan to a large shed built to endure cyclones. Then taking some of our belongings and food, we headed to our lovely friend Jodys house. (She had kindly offered us to come stay at her home for the next few days.) There was a lot of talk around the caravan park about the upgrade of Olwyn. A category 2 was considered nothing to be concerned about.. A category 3 was a slightly different story!
Later that day as the wind started to gain momentum we headed out for a drive around town. The line ups at the supermarkets had grown and the bottle shops lines even longer! (Lol)
The skies had turned grey and the usual calm waters of Town Beach had built up quite a swell.
As the wind gained even more momentum early evening we decided it was time to head for home and prepare for the long night ahead.
I can't say I ever felt scared.. Maybe a little nervous? Funny enough I will admit to being quite excited also? The girls were also oddly quite excited! Tori especially was not able to stop asking questions and was not been able to sleep much the night before! (Anyone would have thought it was Christmas!) After all.. It's not everyday a cyclone directly hits the town your staying in! For us, it was a first!
Cape Range National Park was closed to all visitors
Setting up in Jodys lounge room for the night we watched the news reports on TV as the wind outside picked up more and more strength. Not long after this we officially went onto Red Alert. From here on in nobody was to be out on the street and the town was in lockdown!
At 8pm though the unthinkable happened.. The power went out!! Arghhh!! Lucky we had plenty of torches and lanterns on hand!!
Over the next few hours the wind got stronger and stronger. The house started to shake and it sounded like a endless freight train was passing by right outside the windows!
Between the hours of 12-2am was most certainly the worst of it. With wind gusts hitting a good 195km/hr, lightning strikes and unidentifiable items flying down the streets outside, Olwyn was well and truly showing us what Mother Nature is capable of.
Sometime around 3am I believe we finally all got some much needed sleep. As soon as the sun started to rise, people started to emerge from their homes.. Wow what a site! Huge trees had fallen all over the place, powerlines had been brought down. People were missing parts of their verandahs and roofs of houses. Fences had blown away or been crushed by fallen trees.
Eventually venturing out for a drive we was even more shocked to see the state of the town and the surrounds. The town we have grown so use to over the past few months now looked nothing like we knew it.
Our caravan park
(Ningaloo resort and caravan park)
Caravan Park
Caravan Park
A permanent resident in our caravan park.. This caravan survived cat 5 Cyclone Vance in 1999.. But unfortunately came out a little worse for wear this time. Luckily the owner is safe and still smiling and even has a replacement caravan already
New pool toys
Pool beds
Local Caltex Service Station
This home lost its side wall
This telsta box has seen better days
This road got some slight flooding.. Those guys are trying to unblock the drain..
A BBQ shelter in our caravan park
These 40ft shipping container units were tied down to concrete slabs and still managed to topple over
The skate park got a few new obstacles
Skate park
There was never any sandunes here before.. (The kids all just love these new climbing walls though!)
The yacht club sustained some serious damage
Yacht club
Yacht club
Stobby Poles couldn't withstand the force either
The shopping Mall area
The shopping mall area
So many large trees fell
Once a crystal clear blue... Now looks like mud!
There is a road under there somewhere!!!
None of these rocks were here at the marina before the cyclone. (I took the photo pictured below the night before Olwyn hit.. You can just see to the right of the photo the road area before it got covered in rocks!)
These photos I have taken only show a small part of the destruction Olwyn caused. I think the only way to really show the real damage is to see it with your own eyes.
Luckily no lives were lost and the damage is all repairable.
One thing I have noticed, the longer we have stayed in Exmouth, even more so since the cyclone hit, is the closeness, generosity and willingness of this tight knit community to lend a hand to others in the community. There have been offers of food, accomodation, generators, people offering to bring their chainsaws around to help with clean ups to both residents and tourists alike. (I have seen adults, teens and children all out helping to clean up the town.) Although most the town now has their electricity restored (thanks to the dedication of a lot of people willing to work pretty much around the clock.) There are still some houses without electricity 4 days after the cyclone. Lucky for us at Jodys house (we are still staying here whilst the caravan park gets back up and running.) We was fortunate enough to have the electricity restored approx 48hrs after it went out. The water supply is still running low, so we have been asked to use it sparingly. We have spent some time combing the beaches and have found many pretty large shells and other bits n pieces. The water is still a murky, dirty brown colour, which reminds me of the River Murray back home. Not at all like the crystal clear blue waters I have gotten use to here.
Some shops and restaurants are still closed due to water damage, and much to the delight of the local children, the school is still shut also due to damage.
The endless hours that the SES crews and the many volunteers have put in to get this town up and running again is to be applauded. Besides a few missing trees and the leaves on the remaining trees turning brown, in a few weeks there will be little evidence that a cyclone charged through here and with the up and coming Easter long weekend, Exmouth will once again be filled with tourists keen to relax and enjoy what Exmouth and its people have to offer.
Xx
