Cyclone Yasi

[Random Mutant]

This is the storm that was pounding most of North America yesterday:

Hehehehehe hehe hehehehehehehehe hehe hehe hehe hehehehe...

hehehehe hehe hehehehehehehe...

hehehe hehe hehe hehe....

You said "pounding"... hehe hehe hehe...

hehehe hehe hehe hehehe hehehe hehe hehe hehe hehe....

[Mr.Samsa]

I hope it does miss NZ as the forecasts predict, otherwise we'd be absolutely obliterated...

Hope it misses NZ? Do you really think the forecasters would be so wrong that a storm over 3000 km north-west of us and travelling at 40kph WSW towards inland Australia has a snowflake's chance in hell of backing 90 degrees and making landfall over here?

I mean there is a chance that we'll get an ex-tropical low later this month but that's a different story. Also, NZ is another country with decent building codes (witness the 7.2 Canterbury earthquake, no loss of life, cf Haiti) so obliteration is not really on the cards. Cyclone Bola was a Cat 4 at its peak but again was a tropical low when it passed over NZ.

Are you sure you're using the right website? This one is called Rationalia.

</rant>

Oh meow.

Perhaps I am at the wrong site, I assumed that people could read here. (I also think you misunderstand the name "Rationalia", which was coined as a tongue-in-cheek attack on rationalist sites). What part of "I hope it does miss NZ as the forecasts predict" indicate that I think the forecasts were wrong?

Whether we have good building codes is irrelevant since it would inevitably cause damage through flooding, wind damage to rooves, coastal erosion, etc. The "obliterated" comment was obviously an exaggeration to emphasise the widespread damage it would cause and the costs needed to fix all of that, I didn't actually think it would physically sink NZ or blow it away.

Jesus christ. I can't believe I actually had to explain that.

[Faithfree]

Good to see Yasi was polite enough to put the seat down.


On a serious note, it's relief that with such widespread destruction there are no reports of deaths, although I believe that 2 people who were possibly on a boat are missing. A tribute to effective early warning and the fact that most people in vulnerable localities went to shelters early. The same area was devastated by Cyclone Larry only 5 years ago and thus the long term residents are not blasé about cyclones and were well prepared.

[Ronja]

Thanks, FF, for the update. That is indeed a relief.

[JimC]

The moist tropical air from the cyclone is now streaming down to Victoria, with more flooding expected as a consquence in many country towns...