Australian cyclone aftermath

 “Thanks be to God” – Yasi takes no lives

by Linda Macqueen

With thanks to God, the Lutheran Church of Australia (LCA) rejoices that no lives were lost in the greatly feared Category 5 tropical cyclone Yasi, which crossed the coast around midnight last night. At the same time, the church extends the love and compassion of God to the people who lost homes and properties in what was one of the most ferocious storms in Australia’s history.

The cyclone extensively damaged homes, properties and crops in and around Cardwell, Mission Beach and Tully, which took a direct hit. Fierce winds and rains completely destroyed homes and flattened sugar-cane and banana crops. The region produces 75% of Australia’s bananas.

Reflecting the terror people in this region experienced last night, a resident of Tully said she “lived through a nightmare” and thought she would die. “People here are saying Yasi was much worse than Larry.” Category 4 cyclone Larry devastated nearby Innisfail in 2006, and many North Queensland residents believed they would never experience a more destructive cyclone.

There are small Lutheran communities at Mission Beach and Tully but at this stage it is not known how they fared.

“We feel for the people in these devastated areas who have experienced great loss, and we reach out to them with the love and grace of God,” LCA Queensland District President Noel Noack said this morning. “At the same time, we give thanks to God that no lives were lost in the Cardwell, Tully or Mission Beach areas, or anywhere else in North Queensland, during this awful night, and that the cyclone did not cross the coast at a highly populated area.

“We praise God also for the work of our emergency services people, as they prepared people for this potential disaster. Who knows how many lives were saved as a result of their work in evacuating people from the most dangerous areas.”

Cairns and Townville, the major regional centres of North Queensland, were spared from the anticipated massive destruction of Yasi, which registered wind gusts of up to 280kph. Lutherans from those communities reported this morning that, while they experienced an uneasy night, the cyclone did not appear to be anything out of the ordinary.

Linda Macqueen is editor of The Lutheran, the magazine of the Lutheran Church of Australia

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