Grey nomads and other tourists are joining the mass exodus of people in the areas of north Queensland expected to be battered by the imminent arrival of Tropical Cyclone Debbie.
The storm is expected to deliver destructive 280km/h winds, flooding rain and a four-metre tidal surge when it makes landfall. As of 5am this morning, it was looming 400 kilometres east of Townsville and 285km east-north-east of Bowen, moving slowly west-south-west.
Debbie is expected to cross the coast early tomorrow morning as a category four system, but could further intensify to category five before making landfall between Rollingstone and Proserpine.
Evacuation orders are in place for low-lying areas in Bowen, Proserpine and Airlie Beach before the destructive weather system hits a 300-kilometre stretch of coast tomorrow. Destructive winds and gales could extend inland to Charters Towers, Mount Coolon, and Pentland later tomorrow as the weakening cyclone moves inland.
In Bowen, the managers of the Big 4 Caravan Park, Randy and Karlene Peebles, said around two dozen caravan owners had been evacuated and were heading inland to avoid the predicted devastation.
However, the Peebles were staying put.
“It’s going to be intense, but we’ve got nowhere else to go,’’ Mrs Peebles said. “I’m getting scared because of the ferocity of it, and if we get a four-metre tsunami that will be as high as our second-storey … it looks very eerie out to sea.”
The owner of Bowen’s beachfront Harbour Lights Caravan Park, Jenny Townsend, had also waved goodbye to all of her evacuating guests … but is preparing to ride out the storm herself.
“We can’t do anything about it (the cyclone),” she said.
Bowen has a population of about 10,000 but space for only 800 in its cyclone shelter, with reports some tourists are being turned away.
“We’ve got backpackers turned away from cyclone shelters that are locked up like Fort Knox,’’ said Whitsunday MP, Jason Costigan. “Where are they supposed to go?”
In other traveller hotspots like Airlie Beach, there was a similar sense of dread and trepidation.
Although Gemma and Matt Dungey, who work at the Big Four Caravan Park, have been through a Category 2 cyclone before, they had no idea what a Category 4 storm might be like.
“We had to warn all the guests about it,” Ms Dungey said. “I do feel a bit anxious.”
Debbie is expected to be the most significant cyclone to hit Queensland since Category 5 Cyclone Yasi in 2011.
· Are you in an area likely to be affected by Debbie? Have you changed your plans because of the cyclone? Comment below
We were in Mackay, but moved to Moranbah on Sunday. Now also in watch zone, but not safe to be on the road to move further