How to prepare for cyclone and serious rain event

A Category 2 cyclone is a far cry from the most destructive storms, but winds and a predicted major rain event can have catastrophic consequences. How to prepare for the storm.

Every cyclone is different, and so the first thing we Far North Queenslanders have learned is how crucial it is to never be complacent – and to be properly prepared regardless of the forecast.

Don’t think it won’t impact you, or that a Category 2 cyclone is nothing to be too worried about.

Also, don’t fall into a false sense of hope after the cyclone crosses the coast that the worst is over. It may not be.

A Category 2 cyclone is a far cry from the most destructive storm, but its winds – and particularly the rain it dumps (sometimes up to 2000mm) – can have catastrophic consequences.

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Reporter Peter Carruthers on the fringe of the category 2 storm Cyclone Jasper when it crossed the coast north of Port Douglas in 2023. Wind speeds reached between 154-177 km/h. Picture: Luke Williams

It was only a little over a year ago that Tropical Cyclone Jasper crossed the Far North Queensland coast at Wujal Wujal as a Category 2 storm in December 2023.

It became the wettest cyclone in Australia’s history, causing more than 100 landslides and closing roads; some of which are yet to fully reopen.

On the day the cyclone crossed the coast, I was in Port Douglas – about 285km south of the eye of the storm.

Standing outside as the cyclone made landfall was not impossible, but it was also very much not advisable.

Being a journalist covering the event, we needed to – and though we did it as safely as we could, the winds were significant and it was difficult to hear my colleague who was standing right next to me.

Scarred mountainsides highlight the damage done by Tropical Cyclone Jasper and the floods, Douglas Shire Michael Kerr says.

READ MORE: SE Qld residents to brace for power outages, service shutdowns

Torrents of gushing water from the post-Cyclone Jasper flood in December created more than 120 landslips. Picture: Supplied

And so that is another thing to remember. Cyclones are noisy. Seriously noisy. And that noise is relentless, for hours and hours.

The other strange thing is how a day or two out there are usually sunny skies as all the clouds are sucked into the storm offshore. Again, do not be complacent – it will be very wet, and very windy, before you know it.

That sunny day is the most important day to prepare. Make the most of it.

Get cash out of the bank and fill up your cars with petrol.

Stock up on camping-style food that can be prepared without electricity or gas.

And don’t forget the water – a good rule of thumb is to buy 3L per person per day, so about 9L each.

Don’t forget to also fill up every container you have – and the bathtub – in anticipation of potential water supply issues after the storm hits.

Power banks to charge mobile phones are a priority, as well as an inverter (if available) to run small 240v appliances from a car battery.

A grab bag with irreplaceable documents is essential.

Also do not forget to properly clean up your yard and make sure what can be secured is secured.

You will thank me later, when the power is off and the rain is pelting down so hard you are stuck inside.

A evacuee family and their pet at the Barron River bridge North Cairns after being rescued by boats following Cyclone Jasper in 2023 Picture: NCA NewsWire / Brian Cassey

All that said, most north Queenslanders who have experienced a Category 2 cyclone will tell you that it is not the crossing event itself that is the most disastrous.

Cyclone Jasper caused little structural damage from its winds, but it was that rain it dumped in the days after the crossing that packed the punch.

I will never forget doing a live cross to Sky News near a road that was literally split in two following the floods that inundated the Cairns Airport runway, right in town.

The clean-up continues to this day and has so far cost billions.

Maliq Wray, 10, and Jake Westmore, 10, of The Brothers Leagues Club help clean up a property that was flooded in Mimosa Street, Holloways Beach. The beachside suburb suffered widespread flooding this week when heavy rain from ex Tropical Cyclone Jasper caused the Barron River to break its banks. Picture: Brendan Radke

Cyclones are common across northern Queensland, but each one that I have experienced has been different.

Almost every time there is panic buying; with shelves stripped of essentials.

Sandbags also appear everywhere, lining places that may never get touched.

I have also witnessed a Category 4 storm; the wrecking ball called Cyclone Debbie that tore through the tiny town of Airlie Beach where I was living.

It still conjures heartbreaking memories of destruction.

Airlie Beach residents Maika McDonald, 15, Lauren Squires, Karen Gordon, and Katelin Gordon, survey the damage at Shute Harbour after Cyclone Debbie. Photographer: Liam Kidston.

Whipping winds ripped leaves from trees and launched high-velocity projectiles high into the air in a maelstrom of Mother Nature that decimated the Whitsundays in 2017.

It was in the early hours of Tuesday morning when the eyewall barrelled through the resort outposts of Hamilton and Daydream islands before lining up the mainland.

Debbie strengthened rapidly from Category 2 to a Category 4 Severe Tropical Cyclone in just 12 hours, and achieved peak sustained winds of 215 km/h.

We gathered torches and supplies and headed next door to wait out what was my first cyclone in a small room under the neighbour’s house.

It was still dark when the howling wind could be heard lashing the buildings, breaking tree branches and pummelling the area with intense rain.

Cannonvale near Airlie Beach, in the aftermath of cyclone Debbie. Picture: Jono Searle.

A yacht high and dry after category 4 storm, Cyclone Debbie. Picture: Jono Searle.

At daybreak as the eye passed over there was time to survey the damage for a moment before the bell rang on round two and the anger of the storm was once again unleashed on the town.

On that occasion we did not have running water for a week, and it was at least two weeks before power was restored.

Before then there was looting and extreme price gouging on essential supplies.

The mental exhaustion of weeks of stress and uncertainty took its toll.

It was a recovery journey that for many lasted years.

Homeowners slowly came to grips with hefty damage bills, while battling black mould outbreaks.

Some insurance companies were reluctant to make good on claims.

In total, that Category 4 storm caused $3.5bn in damage and 14 deaths, a result of extreme flooding.

Debbie was the deadliest cyclone to hit Australia since Fifi in 1991.

I will never forget her.

Don’t be complacent. Don’t think it won’t impact you. And don’t fall into a false sense of hope the storm crosses the coast.

The worst may not be over.

Follow @petercarruther1

Originally published as How to prepare for cyclone and serious rain event