Condolences to all of those affected in one way or another by the devastating hurricane that has hit parts of the US, leaving at least 58 deaths in its wake so far.I personally know what it is like to experience a strong hurricane (although in Australia, we call them cyclones).
Back in late 1999 to mid 2000, I was posted, as part of my job at the time, to a place called Karratha, which is in the North-West of Australia. The climate in Karratha is extremely hot (I recall waiting for my bus at 6 in the morning, and the outside temperature already being well in access of 30 degrees celcius!) Even worse than that though, was the fact that cyclones were a regular occurrence. I experienced my first one within a month of arriving at Karratha, and believe me, it was no picnic! But there were more – a whole lot more. Don’t believe me? Read about them here.
The worst of the ones I experienced was Tropical Cyclone John, which was heading directly for Karratha, but veered away at the last minute. John’s maximum recorded wind gust was 113 km/h, and it managed to cause some damage. As a point of comparison, the hurricane in the US came ashore with 225 kmh winds. That is double the speed of the one I experienced from some distance, so I cannot even imagine how frightening it must have been.
I have some interesting cyclone stories, and I’ll be sure to share some with you in my next podcast.
