Catastrophe- hundreds turned away from swollen storm shelters

Planetary Monster: Cyclone Yasi's size layed out across the U.S.

February 2, 2011 – Despite its ferocity and comparisons with Katrina which struck the U.S., the storm received very little coverage in the Western press. The reality is Yasi could easily swallow 3 Katrinas- the storm is that massive. If the storm was layed out over the U.S., it would span from coast to coast. Few realized the magnitude of the monstrosity that was forming off the Australian coast. Cyclone Yasi is not just a once in 150 year killer-type storm; it’s a planetary event. Despite the myriad warnings, many Australians never took the storm warnings seriously at peril now to their own lives. Hundreds were turned away from swollen shelters and many more have tried to ride the storm out in their own homes which are now being inundated with giant storm surges. Emergency services were swamped with calls from desperate homeowners who stayed behind and have now seen waves rushing into their 2nd-story dwellings. They were told to hunker down- a rescue was impossible under such conditions. The Army said, ‘We expect to be picking up bodies.”  A reporter for the Daily Mail writes: ‘”The power of the wind – the scream of the wind – is terrifying and I have been warned by the hotel management that I will not be able to remain in my room in case the windows blow in. I will be moved, with the rest of the hotel guests and the evacuated families, to a cellar during the night. Added to the eeriness of the fearful wait for the cyclone to strike is the sound of cyclone warning sirens echoing through city streets. While I have written of tsunamis and cyclones in the past, it has always been in the aftermath of the disaster. This is the first time I have lived through a cyclone and it is a terrifying experience. On top of everyone’s fears is the knowledge that this is the most severe weather pattern to strike Australia in living memory – just how severe will be seen at dawn after the eye of the cyclone has passed and moved inland.’ –Excerpts Daily Mail