TROPICAL Cyclone Clare roared towards Western Australia’s Pilbara coast last night, forcing families into evacuation shelters as emergency workers prepared for a dangerous storm surge and destructive winds.
The cyclone on the map defines neatly the area where I went sailing a few years ago. Click
here for the almost finished article on that trip.
Sea and air ports, roads and shops were closed and more than 150,000 barrels of daily oil production shut down as the category-three cyclone headed towards the northwest coast.
Despite the red alert, about 10 young men could not resist the chance to surf a rare swell in the famously flat waters of Dampier Harbour.
The group soon realised the conditions were too dangerous and headed to shore, but two stragglers got into difficulty and had to be rescued by police.
Locals raised the alarm as the pair struggled to reach the safety of Sam’s Island, about 600m off the shore.
An onlooker, obviously the master of understatement, comments;
“It was traumatic for everyone watching them, that’s for sure,” said an onlooker who alerted police. “The police couldn’t believe anyone would be out there. They had to act really quickly because all their rescue stuff, including their boat, was locked down for the cyclone.”
I’m sure the Police language would have been more colourful.
The Storm Surge effect is caused by cyclones occuring at high tide. This phenomena is exacerbated by the fact that the tidal range in the area is in the magnitude of 12 metres.
Good luck guys and could you have the place cleaned up by the time I visit in May this year.
Thanks.
UPDATE: Clare has been downgraded from a category three to a category one storm as it heads for the state’s Gascoyne region.
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