Yesterday a violent thunderstorm ripped through Sydney killing a man, destroying many buildings and leaving tens of thousands of homes without power. (For more details and pictures click here) Followed by hail and gale force winds. The man died when a tree fell on his car The storm was centred in the Western Sydney area where the farm we recently cared for is situated.
I received this e-mail from Deidre (who with Kim are the farm owners))…
“I’m glad we were home when this storm hit – we took a direct hit, a bit of hail and wind like you can’t imagine. Power went off of course. But we have been very fortunate. A tree that could have hit the house has been stopped by the dead tree (to the south of the dog pen). That tree should have been taken out after a lightening strike last year, but the contractor never turned up to do it! Branches fell off, one hit the very corner of our bedroom but only bent a gutter that needs replacing anyway. There is a big part of tree near the dog pen, but it fell between the wheelie bin and the gate, so if we crawl under we can still lock them up. Other small stuff down all over, but the driveway OK. The rented house had a tree fall between the carport and a shed, it damaged an old trailer. Andy and Raylene had a tree fall between structures too. And, miracle of miracles, the power, phone and internet all came back on very quickly. That is a first. (Neighbours said trees pulled down power lines locally, so I guess it was a relatively easy fix).
Thought you might hear stories of storms in Sydney, and wanted to let you know we are OK.”
I was so relieved to hear they were ok, and thankful we never had that terrifying experience when we were in charge.
Now the storm is heading our way, 70 km per hour winds are presently buffeting our area and rain is forecast for later tonight. Fortunately the intensity has decreased so hopefully we will get some rain but not as bad as Sydney.
I biked down to the end of the street just before the rain started to capture these images of the storm clouds rolling in.
This sensible duck had bunkered down off the water for the night.
The garden is in need of a good soaking rain. I didn’t do any watering today…
We too have had some tornados and 70 mile per hour winds in Naples Florida where I spent the last 4 days with my teacher Sai Maa an Enlightened Master. It has been a lovely time time together with Maa’s interns, our Healer’s Group. We went down to the beach yesterday after the storms to walk on the beach. It was wonderful.
I am glad the farm did not incur much damage.
Your photos are great as always, Pauline!
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That beach walk must’ve been a lovely experience for you Sue. Storms can be frightening, but they do clear the air and every thing seems so fresh after them. Hope your area did not suffer too much damage in the tornado
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Not much damage no lives lost just lots of wind. The waves and the gulf there were quite something and the air was soon very clean!!
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So pleased that you friends on the farm are all ok despite their near miss by that tree.. thank goodness the other tree was there.
Looks like it was a bad storm.. More and more the violence of Mother Nature is being felt around our globe Pauline.. So pleased all are ok..
Love and blessings xxx Sue
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They were lucky that the tree didn’t do more damage Sue.
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Very Luck by the sounds of things Pauline xx
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Amazing story about the dead tree saving the house from the falling tree. These big storms are really scary, hope you can relax now..
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It is cooler now and I will be pottering in the garden later.
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Just been over to read your “about” page Gerrie. I love your description of Canberra it is an undiscovered gem. Are you going to allow likes and comments on your about page?
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Thanks for reading the About Canberra, I don’t have a like or comment on that separate page, but thinking of changing some of that around soon.
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That’s good as I think bloggers like to connect to each other.
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Glad everything went well for you. Storms can be devastating up here as well. I can imagine you on the bike –
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Storms seem to be more frequent right around the world now. I love my bike… 🙂
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Sounds a bit crazy…biking in the storm… But that’s you and you’re great!
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Thanks Leya it was only to the end of the street, but I hurried…
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How did you fare PP? I hope all is well. I had a friend flying from Brisbane to Sydney that night and they weren’t able to land, instead being diverted to Williamtown. He got some great shots of the storm from the plane. I will miss Brisbane storm-watching.
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Oh that would be scary in a plane through a storm. I don’t think even the thought of a photo op would entice me…
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Agreed. Mostly. But I would love to take the photos 😉
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The southern states have been copping a hammering lately, Pauline. I’m so glad your friends are safe and sound and you weren’t there when it hit and by the time it reached you it had lost some of it’s power. It’s so sad that the man lost his life. My condolences to his family.
I saw the storm go through Sydney on my weatherzone app and it looked very scary. Melbourne copped a big one the night before so I rang my daughter to see if she was okay – just a few branches in the yard, etc.
I was reading on News.com the other day that people are becoming more obsessed with weather and weather apps. I thought, I’m one of them! And no wonder we are because the weather is going crazy lately. Mother nature is showing us her displeasure…
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I agree about Mother Nature Dianne and rightly so she has a lot to put up with nowadays. I do not check the weather app as much now I am home. I opened it before I checked emails on the farm…
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How thoughtful of your friends to let you know all is well there. I hope all is well for you and you escape the worst of it. Take care my friend!
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They are a lovely couple and we enjoyed getting to know them. We are ok the storm fizzled out overnight, thank goodness.
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I can just see you pedaling like mad to get the shots, then doing the same the other way to get home before the storm. 🙂
janet
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My legs were going like pistons Janet, just made it back as it started to rain…
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How awful for the people badly affected by the Sydney storm. Glad your friends on the farm are okay. We just received a tornado warning here, so I quickly drove home to put the car in the garage, just in case. It may be nothing, but better safe than sorry.
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Always best to take care Sylvia and hope for the best.
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Very true, Pauline. Thankfully, it turned out to be just a lot of wind and rain here.
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Yes our warning turned into just wind and now rain
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Glad you missed those storms at the farm, Pauline…
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So am I Sue. We had one but it was not right overhead and that was scary.
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You are having some hair raising times just lately, Pauline! Seems like our little world is staging some kind of anti-humans demonstration! Stay safe, sweetheart 🙂
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No wonder nature is “anti-human” Jo just look at all we do to her…Storm fizzled out overnight thank goodness. Just rain now
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Hope all is well – let us know soonest – grand photos. xxx
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The storm passed us by and just fizzled out, now it is raining though
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Thank you for replying – great to know you’re all safe! xx
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Lovely to hear from you Del
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Hope you stayed safe Pauline – sounds like a fearsome storm!
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I’m pleased I was not on the farm for this storm
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Yes that would not have been good Pauline – glad you’re safe and sound. We are expecting rain and storms for the next few days – most unusual for Perth during the summer months but the summers seems to be getting more humid recently.
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I’ve noticed Perth’s extreme temps lately. Makes life difficult. Terrible fires down your way too.
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Fortunately much cooler now Pauline – very unseasonal for the time of year it’s been low 20s and we’ve had rain too. Has eased fire conditions but alas not in time for the SW. The fires were devastating for the small township of Yarloop – just a few minutes more or less destroyed the place but the locals are determined to rebuild. On the whole it’s been a mild summer – we really have only had a few very hot days, which is good.
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I was saddened to hear of Yarloop I remember visiting the railway workshop in 2010, one of the memorable places visited on our round Australia trip. If it has gone all the old railway memorabilia will never be able to be replaced.
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An ominous but beautiful sky–time to gather the candles! Stay dry.
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Oh yes always have the candles in a handy cupboard.
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Lucky to have missed the storm on the farm. Good luck with your own storm and follow the ducks sensible example😉
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Fortunately the storm fizzled out and now it is just a good steady rain, the garden needs it…
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Yikes! That’s pretty grim. Hope the storm is less sever for you and that there is no damage. And I for one am glad you are a bloggerholic, those are cracking photos of the storm clouds!
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Thank goodness the storm did fizzle out, just a lot of huffing and puffing winds, but now it is a nice steady rain, I hope it rains all day the garden badly needs it after a spell of hot weather.
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So that is where you disappeared to on your bike.
To take photos of the approaching storm for your blog.
You are a blogger-holic that is not as bad as it could be.
You write a great blog that I enjoy. _/\_
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Thanks Jack
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