Cyclone Marcus

October 18, 2018

Cyclone Marcus

On the 16th March 2018 Cyclone Marcus stopped by to say hello. A category 2 Tropical Cyclone, it was the strongest cyclone to hit Darwin since Tracey in 1974, with winds up to 130km/ph.

A very excited and eventful day. We had to drive during the cyclone, not advised. From my work to home it usually takes 6 minutes to drive - it took us over an hour.
Vision was restricted to only a few feet, if that, ahead of us. The rain and wind was so loud against the car windows that we couldn't hear each other speak. The trees that were still standing had been stripped of their leaves and were blowing almost horizontal, the ones that were down were blowing down the street as if they were tumble weeds.
Power lines were detached and creating sparks through the streaming rain. We had to drive over a few that were across the street.
Branches, garbage bins, shop signs, crates and debris were flying down the roads. As we were driving a tree fell on a car in front of us. We helped the girls out, unharmed, and then drove them home. As soon as you opened the car doors the wind blew a gale of water and debris in, wiping our faces.
When we made it home there was so much mud and water in our house. We moved our furniture into the centre of all the rooms and lay towels out.
The sound was so intense, it was amazing how loud the wind can be. Trees and objects were scraping over our roof and past our windows, it also became incredible dark, very moody.

Once the wind had died down in the afternoon, people started to emerge from their homes and walk around to inspect the damage, there was a nice sense of community. People were offering chainsaws and helping to free some fences and cars that were trapped from the fallen trees.
And beer! There were many beers being passed around.

We lost so many old trees, mostly mahoganies and non natives, they were not designed to with-stand these tropical cyclones. The faithful palm trees bent over backwards during the storm, but still stayed standing after.

Roughly 26,000 homes were left without power, and some with out water. No lights, no fans, no running water, no fridge, no stove. Why didn't we stock up more?! Most businesses were closed the next few days, we

Up rooted - Mahogany tree with very shallow roots.

Some homes remained with out power for a few weeks. Our house had no power for about three days, we also were advised not to drink any of the water as the towns pipes had been cracked and contaminated. Our yard clean up took about two full days, and 7 trips to the tip! Not fun in 35 degree heat and limited water supply.