Both Lesser and Great Frigatebirds are common off the Queensland coast.

Toucan2, I might just do that.

Lavandula, there has been Government requirements to build houses that are cyclone rated for years now but of course there are still homes and buildings that were built prior to those laws being introduced.
I had a home built after the introductions of those laws and depending where you lived you had to have the house rated to withstand a level 3,4 or 5 cyclone. That meant huge bracings if it was something like a pole home with extra means of support for roofs etc at all levels.
Strangly though one cyclone that I went through, 3 entire new suburbs of Townsville were smashed to pieces with many roofs taken off and walls downed but the older homes, mainly old Queenslanders ( at the time mine was one of those ) which had been built with all hardwood timber, withstood the impact without damage. I think it depends mainly on the year some houses were built and with what materials.
Having said that, in cyclones you will see one house standing amongst a street of rubble and wonder why it came through unscathed.
I think that if the cyclone building codes where not in place
there would have been a lot more damage to homes in and around Cairns and Atherton Tablelands.
I am just so pleased to see that they came out of this one so well.

Thanks, inbe - it sounds like government was on top of this way earlier than I was.

I've heard before about how storms can destroy homes more or less arbitrarily. I'm glad yours came through it well.

Lavandula

I doubt that the Government had too much to do with the legislation, I suspect that it was more the Insurance Industry then the Government. It is interesting to know that the Queensland Government is the only State Government which does NOT have disaster insurance. What do you think would happen if people did not have insurance for their homes and then asked the Government for help?

Glad to hear that you got off relatively lightly Pat and Alan. The pictures from Tully etc were amazing. It would be almost impossible to work out where to start in the terms of the clean up.

One of the ironies of the cyclone is that we put in an insurance claim today for flood/storm damage to our house down here in Melbourne as a result of the rain from the remnants of the cyclone. It wouldn't have occurred to me in a million years that we could be affected here. It is an indication of just how big the system was. Fortunately flooding for us was only minor. We may need to replace the floorboards, do some painting but we were able to basically move most of the stuff out of the rooms before it was a problem.

What I can't understand, Alan, is how the birds survive a blast like this. They were understandably very quiet around here for many hours pre-cyclone, but the next morning the Torres Strait pigeons were into the palm seeds (what is left of them) in front yard, and the kookaburras were laughing their heads off.

Toucan, it was three fridges with freezers, lots of ruined food, but everything in them was dumped yesterday, before the smell could permeate - it was good of Cairns Council to put on an off-schedule garbage removal otherwise it wouldn't have been picked up until Wednesday. By then it would be ponging badly!

But always the odd moment of levity, ABC talkback radio did a good job of covering the cyclone, someone was worried about his chooks (hens to US readers) so he popped them into his bathroom for safety, chooks had a great time staring at themselves in bathroom mirror, and owner was rewarded with eggs for breakfast, laid in the bathtub.

Shandy, I believe you got the remnants of Anthony.

Toucan, go here to see the frigatebird. My little camera was hard pressed but you can see what it is. http://alanswildlife.blogspot.com/20...t-and-her.html

Pat, the birds and indeed most animals go to ground, literally,during a severe storm. As the winds from Larry were easing I went outside with a helmet on and had birds moving around my ankles. I almost stepped on a Barking Owl. One of the animals which wont climb down is the Green Ringtail Possum which will just hang on tighter to its roost branch. After Cyclone Larry quite a few dead ones were found while all the tree kangaroos I knew survived the blow. Some did not survive the loss of habitat. A number of trees have snapped off just where they regrew after Larry. The forest is looking very open at the moment.

I'm glad you were able to get everything cleared out Pat. Love the story about the fellow and his chickens.

Thanks Alan. I checked out that picture as well as the other posted, then found myself backtracking through earlier posts, and this is how I find myself having lost large portions of my life, wandering down branching trails online.

Toucan, perhaps it is really 'widely wasteful wandering' for 'www' or something like that.

Glad to hear you're safe & sound everyone.

Glad to hear you're safe & sound everyone.

Ditto!!!

The bird news gets even more exciting.
http://alanswildlife.blogspot.com/

Very cool Alan.

I just love the thrush's eyebrow, Alan. Looks perfectly formed - the envy of many a young lady, methinks.
Have my Slater Field Guide to Australian birds out to look up the thrush - no luck - and the Torres Strait pigeon. What a beautiful bird. Not seen any of these - yet!

Dotty,
The Thrush is normally to be found in Siberia and migrates south to South-East Asia. A couple or so a year are found in Singapore and there is at least one record from Java but this is an Australian first. If you have European or north Asia books on birds that is where you should look.

As to the Torresian or Pied Imperial Pigeon, there are a few which remain all year in the Cairns area so that if you come to the GTG I can show them to you.

What a lure! Not sure if I could get two days off school - in fact not sure when flights between Auckland and Cairns go. Will have a look now.

Just to get an idea of the damage caused by Yasi, have a look at the pics in local Cairns paper - www.cairns.com.au - little damage to Cairns but areas south took a beating. The broken and almost sand-buried road in the Cardwell pictures is the Bruce Highway, the main road north (or south).

The devastation from these kinds of storms is just so shocking. When I drove through some areas after a hurricane on the Texas coast a few years ago, I thought it looked like a war zone.

Thanks for sharing the link, Pat.

A friend just sent me this ...

On Saturday just gone, at Karrinyup Shopping Centre (Western Australia) the Variety Club Youth Choir organized a FLASH MOB where they all were incognito in the Food Hall, and started standing up in groups singing "We are Australians" - The purpose it to raise money for the QLD floods. Each time it is clicked on, money is raised thru google ads, SO PLEASE WATCH !!!!!! It is a beaut way of supporting those poor flood stricken Aussies over on the other side of our country.

Go to - http://www.youtube.com/storytellermedia