Slave Of Destiny Read Free Page B

back. Michael thought he had plenty
of time to catch some decent sized fish during the time his family would be
staying at the hut.

Chapter 3
     
    In the
hot, steamy atmosphere of the ocean near the Solomon Islands and about the
middle of December, a larger than usual area of cloud began to develop. The
winds below this cloud began to strengthen and meteorologists saw definite
indications of a developing cyclone. Every twenty-four hours, the U.S.
meteorological satellite transmitted a photograph to Australian receiving
stations and by 21 st December the meteorological offices issued a
“tropical advisory warning”. A tropical low, 250 miles southwest of Honiara,
began to develop into a cyclone.
     
    The
photo, taken as the satellite flashed by on the following the third morning,
left no room for doubt that the cyclone was a developing force. The cyclone,
named Althea, continued to move in the direction of the Queensland coast and
during that day the pressure at the centre fell gradually and the winds
intensified.
    “You
need to get home now, because there’s a cyclone coming” said dad to mum on the
phone in the beach house.
    “The
reports said that it wasn’t going to come near us” argued mum, remembering that
she hadn’t heard an updated report in the last twenty-four hours.
    The
Macquarie News broadcast, emanating from 4BH Brisbane and relayed during the
night to all commercial stations on the Queensland coast were issuing outdated
warnings. It was understood that the news broad-casts after midnight are from
pre-recorded tapes and may have contained outdated warnings.
    “Well
it is coming straight for us, so pack everything up and come back to
Townsville” he said, becoming worried about them.
    “Rebecca
can start packing everything up, while I help Michael get the dinghy out of the
creek. We should be home in about four hours” she said.
    “Just
get home as soon as you can” he suggested as he ended the call.
     
    “Rebecca,
can you start cleaning out the fridge and packing the food into the cooler box?
After that can you pack our clothes and anything else we need to take home,
like the Christmas presents?” she asked. “Just leave us a set of clothes each
and a few towels, because we’re going to get soaked.”
    “Ok
mum” she replied.
    “Let’s
go down and get that dinghy out of the creek” she said to Michael.
    The
wind was howling around them and the rain was bucketing down as mum drove down
to the creek with the trailer. The creek had risen steadily over the past hour,
but they managed to retrieve the boat and return to the hut. Loose objects were
either put away or tied down and finally the three of them were ready to head
for home. The main road was already covered with some surface water from the
heavy rain and there were trees and debris everywhere from the gale-force
winds, but they managed to get home safely.
     
    *
* *
     
    About
noon on 23 rd December it was again photographed by the satellite
and, as the day went by, reports from the automatic station on Flinders Reef
indicated that the centre was passing just south of that location. From these
sources of information it was clear that “Althea” was still building up its
energy and that its landfall would occur before noon the next day. Gusts
reaching 125 mph picked up debris tore building components loose and drove them
with such force that it tore the iron off roofs and smashed holes in fibre-cement
walls. The unrelenting pressure of the wind drove the tide to a height never
seen before, causing a rise in the sea-level of 9 foot in the estuary of the
Ross River and flooding the main streets of the city. The tidal surge and
powerful wave action totally destroyed the rock wall along the strand and the
bitumen road to Pallarenda. Luckily the cyclone arrived on a low tide, because
if the storm surge had arrived 5 hours later, the damage would have been far
greater.
     
    At 10am
on 24 th December, the relatively calm area of the