...with the irony that we were in Melbourne right in the middle of its worst weather in 40 years and also in Perth during one of its biggest storms for many years... Privileged? :)
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March 6, 2010. Hail blanketed Melbourne like snow as a mini-cyclone storm lashed the city, causing transport chaos and forcing the cancellation of sporting events and a festival. The reason we were in Melbourne was to attend Li Yee and Peter's wedding (more on this later) and fortunately, it was not cancelled because of the storm! When the hailstorm began , it sounded like lots of stones were being thrown onto the roof! Oh, Agnes' aunty's car was parked out there! We later found a few small cracks on the windscreen... :( but thankfully they did not punch a hole through the windscreen!
The storm hit on Saturday at 2.40pm (AEDT), dumping 26mm of rain on Melbourne in less than an hour. 19mm of rain pounded the city in less than 18 minutes. Li Yee's wedding was at 11 in the morning and the dinner reception was to begin at 6.30pm with cocktail. From 2pm, we were at the reception venue, helping to set up a few things, that was when the storm started.
Hail the size of golf balls showered the city, with reports of some hail stones the size of cricket balls in Ferntree Gully, in Melbourne's outer east. Where we were, it was the size of marbles... and we are grateful.
Wind gusts exceeding 100km/h lashed Melbourne Airport and Southern Cross train station was evacuated as rain tore a hole in its roof and a deluge splashed down on the train platforms...
And Melbournians should expect another dose of nasty weather on Sunday, with rain up to 100mm forecast. It certainly affected us very much. We were going to catch the 7.25pm flight back to Perth. Being our first time flying on Tiger Airways, we had no idea that passengers on all flights would be queuing up at the same queue! After queueing up for an hour, we were still at the back of the queue, and many were still queuing outside the terminal, and some in the rain. The queue included those affected by a few cancelled flights to Sydney, trying to be transferred to another flight. At one point, the whole airport was closed for an hour due to the extreme weather. Thankfully, after an hour of delay, we were finally on our way back to Perth...
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March 22, 2010. A major storm has swept across Perth causing widespread flooding, property damage and power cuts as it dumped big hailstones and substantial rain on the parched city.
We just had one of the hottest summers in Perth... Kevin was in uni and Agnes was at work. We were indoors and we were not about to go out there to brave the storm!
The city's residents have been warned to brace for further storms coming through from the north.
The warning was subsequently cancelled.
A Bureau of Meteorology spokesman said it was one of the biggest storms in Perth for many years with wind gusts of more than 120km/h and 35mm of rain falling within about eight hours since 9am.
Western Power reported the storm had cut power to around 150,000 customers by about 6pm (WST) on Monday as the city darkened and lightning flashed constantly...
We had no power until about 9pm the same day while others did not have power for 2 - 3 days.
blackout at Kevin's office...
Driving rain by 5pm flooded streets and 150 sets of blacked-out traffic lights made driving hazardous for commuters heading home, with widespread congestion reported... We heard of how bad it was at some areas especially in the city, with a landslide, and some properties had collapsed/ leaked ceilings and were flooded. Whilst one small stretch of the road in front of our apartment was flooded, our apartment was spared, being slightly elevated and being on the ground floor, we did not have leaked ceilings!
So, Agnes finally left work at 6pm to pick up Kevin and we were glad that the roads that we used were not badly affected. A church member was stuck in the city and arrived home only at 9 pm! The sky was clearing by then, as the clouds broke up to reveal a strange orange glow... everything felt still and there was a calmness all around...
there are now many small dents on our car; which can't be seen from this photo, unfortunately... Again, we are glad that the hail did not break through the windscreen and that our car is still drivable (we only have a third party insurance!) But you should be able to see that there is lots of cleaning up to do on the streets... with fallen trees, branches, leaves, dirt and all...
As there was no power, we couldn't cook (ours is an electrical stove), and the shops were all closed, so we ended up eating bread and corn chips in the dark, with only one small torchlight...
The state is still counting the costs after this storm... with all the destruction and damage that resulted from it. Some schools have been closed, surgeries had to be cancelled at some hospitals, some roads are still closed, lots of cars and buildings damaged by the storm and the floods. Thankfully there's no news of any serious injury to people.
Anyway, for all those who have sent us smses, e-mails and online messages to check up on us, thanks for your concern! We're doing great!
News extracts from www.thewest.com.au.
