Far north Queensland is breathing a collective sigh of relief with Cyclone Kimi now weakening into a category one system, and forecasters saying say it appears unlikely to cross the coast.
The cyclone warning for Innisfail to Ayr has been cancelled but intensive weather is still expected to hit.
The news will no doubt come as a huge relief to residents and to any travellers still up in the area. Any grey nomad who has camped their way through extreme weather events or battened down the hatches during high winds will know just how terrifying an experience it can be.
In recent days, much of south-east Queensland has been lashed by severe storms and many travellers have been caught out by their intensity. At the southern end of the Sunshine Coast, guests at the Dicky Beach Caravan Park have been recalling their terrifying experiences over the weekend.
Luke Nielson told the Daily Mercury that part of his campsite was destroyed during a huge storm that blew trees over and left debris and destruction in its wake.
“We had three gazebos and the only reason they didn’t fly away was because we were holding onto them,” he said. “They all were all pegged down properly with ropes and pegs but the wind just lifted them straight out of the ground, at one stage one of the gazebos had lifted straight up off the ground about one metre in the air and we had to jump up and grab it.”
Mr Nielson told the Mercury that the worst of the storm only lasted about 10 minutes, but the rain was so heavy he could hardly see a few metres in front of him.
He said the wind was coming from all different directions.
“People who were in our caravan said it felt like it was going to tip over,” he said. “A friend’s site had their thick metal poles holding up a tarp completely bent on a 45-degree angle.”
We always look at weather predictions and have taken down the awning when high winds are possible. It has saved us a few times.
We had high winds at 7 mile Just north of Dongara one night and our van with us in it was rocking very badly. We had the stabalisers down and still attached to the tug. SHMBO was very frightened and I was really worried however the rig weathered the storm.
Our 25ft caravan was pegged to the ground when we lived in Cairns 50 years ago with several star stakes driven into the ground, the whole back end of the CP use to go under water, Earlville regional shopping centre is built on the site now