Cyclones or depression - who cares - not impressed!

Today has been interesting, unbelievable winds over night - little bit on the hairy side, what am I saying very scary stuff. We tried to make the most of the day by doing "drive bys" of some addresses I had picked off the real estate web - certainly seeing everything at its worst - the driving was not for the faint hearted. We keep going back to one particular area, but of course with the cyclonic conditions we haven't really been able to have a good look around. We came back to the van around 2pm, and things got really bad, so much so we decided to evacuate the van to the car and drive to somewhere in the park where we felt safer. I took a few videos, the first one of these is short and was taken while I could stand up in the wind (4 seconds).

The second was once we were in the car looking at our van, it had quietened just a bit then, but not for long.

As we were driving around the park, we saw awnings and annexes just rip off and up ---- including the sails over the kids jumping "thingo" and swimming pool .

We then find somewhere to park, away from huge trees, stayed there and just watched as things got worse, the boom gate on the Park just ripped off!! People running everywhere trying to save their awnings and annexes and the things underneath them. We wisely took our awning down yesterday morning after hearing the weather forecast.

(After listening to those slow ole dulcet tones - think I will give video commentary a miss from now on!!!) Eventually things died down - only slightly, and we drove back to the van, well I walked some of the way so I could take some video (Kev you will regret the day you passed on this knowledge to me) , I found at least 3 boats had broken their moorings, don't know where they were moored originally, not in front of us that's for sure.

This one ends up right in front of the vans. You can hear "the stays and halyards" whistling in the wind! There was a trimaran which started somewhere south of us (I assume on a mooring) and was last seen floating past us up the broadwater.

Plenty of emergency activity on the broadwater as well, with boats being collected by the Coast Patrol and SES. Hate to think what it was like actually on the Coast - we had a long peninsular between us and the sea!!.

This area - including Brisbane has received one third of its annual rainfall in the past 36 hours. Worst in 25 years - they are saying!! There are many road closures, flooded streams and rivers, and huge pot holes in some of the road. There is more forecast (40% chance), here's hoping the 60% wins out. I'm all out of enthusiasm for cyclones/depressions right now 'specially while living in the van. The good news is the van does not leak and the sun will shine again - AFTER ALL IT'S QUEENSLAND!!.