Patience and preparation key for those in the path of Cyclone Alfred

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Tropical Cyclone Alfred is the first to make landfall in the region in 50 years, meaning a lot of residents don't have any experience with storms like this. Chief Engineer at James Cook University's cyclone testing station, David Henderson, says those in the firing line must be patient and prepared.

Transcript

00:00This event's going to be moving very slowly.

00:04We're going to be under severe winds that are forecast to be hanging around for several

00:09hours.

00:10So people have got to be really prepared in their own minds and what they've got them

00:16in their house, wherever they're sheltering their house, to be really just bunkered down

00:20there for quite a few hours around it.

00:22And you're right, the noise can be really huge.

00:26There's also going to be potential for a lot of wind-driven rain getting into our buildings,

00:30under our doors and through our windows, because in this type of wind, the wind's coming horizontally.

00:36So it's getting blown up, our roof going up, the valley gutters maybe dropping down into

00:40our ceilings and space, depending on the wind speed, the type of house, all of those things.

00:45So the big thing with people is it's just going to take so long, and then afterwards

00:51there will probably be no power for several days.

00:53So we've just got to be really patient and prepared.

00:55Do all your preparations beforehand.

00:58So that includes cleaning up all the yards around, make sure nothing can be moved by

01:04the wind.

01:05If you can move it, the wind is definitely going to be able to move it.

01:07So that's all big pot plants, it's pulling down your shade cloth structures, it's pruning

01:12away stuff, so less chance of your windows getting broken by debris, which then causes

01:17pressure to suddenly come in and cause a great big load on the house, plus all the wind and

01:22water coming in.

01:23So make sure we've got the prep, so you've worked out which room you're going to be sheltering

01:27in, usually the smallest room near a corridor, nothing with any big windows in it, and that

01:34you've got your water, your food, lots of battery things to keep your phones going,

01:41provided the network's up and running afterwards and those things.

01:45Think of it as the house as a box, and on the windward wall, that huge amount of pressure

01:50pushing on the windward wall, as the wind goes up over the house, it's all these forces

01:55trying to pick the whole house up by its cladding.

01:57If on the windward wall, a window breaks or a door blows in, that pressure comes inside

02:03and can really greatly increase the load on the roof structure.

02:07If you have a leeward window open or ajar, that may help reduce some of the pressure,

02:16it only may, but the problem with that is that the wind can change direction.

02:24Other things can go wrong with it, and what you might have done if you haven't closed

02:27that window and the wind changes direction, you've now pressurised your house.

02:32So the advice that we get given from emergency services is that they want the house to be

02:37all sealed up and you're sheltering in the small part, you're not putting yourself in

02:43harm's way by being near a window or anything else, but for getting hit by potential debris

02:47or broken glass.

02:49If you are going through the eye, it can be a very sudden shock that the winds just rapidly

02:57scream back up again.

02:59So do play attention to emergency services announcements through the BOM, through the

03:06local government, radio, to make sure that it is safe to go outside.

03:13And even when it's safe to go outside, look out for fallen power lines, look out for anything

03:18that could be damaging to yourself.

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