Thorp Air Command - T18.net

Been watching the weather and thinking of our counter-rotating friends on the island continent - am hoping no one is being washed away. Everyone OK down there?

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Fraser MacPhee
N926WM
Serial #279-1
Angel Fire, NM (KAXX)

Fraser

Thanks for thinking about us. The state of Queensland is 70% flooded with 10
dead and 39 missing. The city of Brisbane is flooding and expected to get
worse tomorrow.

Regards

Mike Nolan
Sydney
Australia

*** admin posted for Mike ***

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Forum Administrator

JP...are you still above water ?

Rich. I,m in Victoria we have heavy rains but no
flooding s. Its Queensland that got the deluge.The size of
France and Germany combine are flooded, Its really bad stuff.
My place is 354 feet above MSL.Thanks for your concern J.P.

** admin posted for James Peran ***

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Forum Administrator

We who are in Victoria are OK at the moment.Poor
Queenslanders getting it real bad. Over the West
they got fires.. Its not over , worst yet to come.
J.P

*** admin posted for James Peran ***

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Forum Administrator

Our hearts go out to those that have lost loved ones and those with missing family members. The number missing has been revised down to 67, let's hope they are alive and just waiting to be reached. The weather was that bad it even grounded the helo fleet.
I'm about 60nm South of Rockhampton where the water is starting to recede (down to 18.9 Metres). Most of the light A/c were bought down to Gladstone where we have the only servicable runway within a 120nm radius. They set up a blow up Field Hospital in our Airport Carpark for patients bought in to stablise before flying to Brisbane on the Flying Doctor (B200s). The Area Flying Doctor Base is in Rockhampton .Below is a week ago.No one knows yet what damage has been done to the Runway, it could be months before Rpt starts out of there again. Just looking at the weather map and there is a Cyclone spinning up to the East trending towards the Coast. Our Wet Season has only just started. Interesting Times ahead Grasshopper. All be safe

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John Groth VH IXI

From a 10 year drought to floods over New Year now to the biggest Cyclone ever recorded to hit Australia.It's expected to hit Nth Queensland Coast in about three hours time as a Catagory 5 Cyclone and expected to continue inland to Central Australia as a Cyclone. Predicting winds up to 290KPH ( about 145kts).The core is about 100Kms across Humungas!!!
I'm at Gladstone on the Central Coast so we should just get wind and rain but have battened down the hatches, as you just don't know what they will do. Unfortunately tonight people are going to die. We can only prepare for the worst and hope for the best.
Our thoughts go out to our friends in the North. Below is the Satellite Image this morning

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I've got "Skippy" in my Hanger and Tied down as well and clear of doors that might come inwards, that's about all you can do. Afew other Owne/Pilots here haven't bothered. They've never seen the ferocity of these things, I spent quite a bit of time in the Tropics in the Solomon Islands and Papua/New Guinea and have seen it first hand.
All the best you mob up North
John Groth VH IXI

Wow John .. that's a big storm! Stay safe, keeping you/yours and Skippy in our thoughts.

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Lee Walton
Houston, TX
N51863,N118LW
KEFD

Now 0745hrs Local Time, good news so far no fatalities reported but we must realise there are no communications throughout the hit zone or road access. With any amount of luck we've missed a bullet.
Below is the satalite of the storm hitting at Bingil Bay

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Here's hoping everyone are OK. The preparation for this event by the Authorities has been terrific.eg ALL Cairns Hospital Patients we airlifted by RAAF, Govt.and Private aircraft to Brisbane Job well done, but as you know all the "Monday Morning Quarterbacks" will now climb out from under their beds and start their slanging, probably the same ones that fought over food stocks in Supermarkets
Adversity brings out the best and worst in people.
Just so you get some perspective of the size of this thing below is a land mass comparison Aust. and USA

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Hope the lack of bad news continues. The She'll be right Mate" attitude is coming thru already.
Still heading West, we'll keep watch as you don't know if the rain depression will head South, hope not because the ground is waterlogged from the Floods
Someone send my a banana,all ours are destroyed[:(!]

Good onya
John Groth VH IXI