Belated Storm Story

This is very late, I know, but as I have just got 'back' I have a good excuse and I did not see any other references to the BIG STORMS anywhere else. How did everyone fare? Any major dramas?

Here, on the NSW Central Coast, it hit us pretty bad on the Thursday before the Queen's Birthday weekend (first weekend in June). I had ducked out to sneak up to the shopping centre before the rain got too bad (I am supposed to be on oxygen 24/7 but can come off it now and then; but I'm not supposed to be going on shopping sprees - but with the long weekend looming I needed milk, bread, etc.). I was as quick as I could be but the storm hit just as I was about to leave Coles supermarket. One of the staff came rushing out of the staff room, crying that the water was cascading down one of the walls.

I wheeled my trusty trolley out of the building to discover the car park was already inches under water (to purists that's >5cm). Though my car was mercifully close to the door I still had to wade through the water to get to it. I started to drive out of the car park but saw the traffic was already banked up bumper to bumper in the direction I was headed. Going by a parallel route I came to my home from a different direction and saw that the traffic hold-up was caused by 1) the canal that runs at the back of my house was overflowing and blocking the road and 2) a tree growing between the canal and my fence had fallen down with some branches on the road and some, seemingly, on my fence.

When I finally parked my car and opened the front door, I was preparing myself for the sight of chaos in my kitchen (tree damaging fence damaging kitchen wall with wind and rain sweeping through), but to my surprise the tree had not damaged the fence at all, coming to rest, at an angle, across a branch of another tree, with just a few leaves dangling on my side of the fence.

'Phew' I sighed (I really did!), thinking how lucky I was to be in a sound, warm home where I could change into some dry warm clothes, make a nice, hot cup of coffee and just hibernate till the tempest abated. It was only when I had changed into said dry warm clothes that I realised how quiet the house was. The usual hums were missing, no fridge, no freezer, no oxygen concentrator. No electricity. No hot coffee. NO OXYGEN CONCENTRATOR!! No panic, you know the rules, phone the power company to find out what the down time is likely to be. (But what do I do about the coffee??)

I figured that as the water in the hot water system is hot enough to burn my hands it would make drinkable instant coffee in an emergency such as this, so I tried it and it worked (the power must only have been off for a short time before I got home), so I then called the power company who gave me the news that power was going out all over as trees came down with each new gust of wind and the only indication they could give me was 'indefinite' and to call 000 (that's 911 to our O/S cousins).

I did this and although I told them I was breathing okay at present, not stressing or in difficulty and could therefore wait for more urgent cases to be looked after, an ambulance was at my door within minutes to take me to the nearest hospital where I was hooked up to their oxygen system. Quite a few other people were in the same boat as I was and we spent the time listening to radio broadcasts of estimated power reconnections.

Twenty four hours later we were advised we were going to be moved by bus to another hospital to make room for more evacuees. I couldn't quite fathom the logic of this - why not just send the newcomers to the other hospital (NONE of the people involved required actual medical treatment), but even though more than one of us queried this plan we were told it was all organised and that was that.

At nine thirty on Friday night, with the rain still pounding down and the wind still blowing a gale, we were taken out, two at a time, to the ambulance entrance where a bus was waiting. I was one of the first two (we were the 'fittest' of the lot), and we climbed on the bus and sat, freezing out backsides off, while the others were brought out. Finally we were all on board. Then someone asked about the oxygen tanks they had promised us for the trip. Minor panic as nurses and aides went off looking for oxygen tanks - finally returning with two.

'You will have to share' we were told. Unfortunately the two sitting closest to the bus door grabbed the tanks. 'I need my oxygen 24/7' wailed one of them and hung on tight to one tank. 'So do we all' chorused the rest of us, but to no avail. The second tank was being hugged by this man who (I am convinced) was Rodney Dangarfield's twin. He said nothing but just gave baleful looks to everyone.

So we set off on our adventure to another hospital, many, many kilometres away. We had to make a detour at one stage, as the road had collapsed at one spot and a family of five were washed away to their deaths. Finally we arrived at about midnight - cold, wet and miserable. The nurses were, I will say, very good and got us settled in as quickly as possible and made tea and coffee for us.

Unfortunately, there was absolutely nothing to do, and we spent the long weekend staring into space fretting about the food that was rotting in the fridge and freezer. TV reception in this hospital's area is very poor, so they don't provide television for patients. The patients' sitting room, where they do have a set for watching videos and dvds and some books, was shut off because their air conditioning was playing up and it was like a refrigerator in there.

Phone calls every few hours to the power company were our only link to the outside. (You can receive STD calls, but you can't make them.) The information we kept getting was that power would be restored some time during the ensuing week.

The lady in the bed next to mine, Lily, finally got a call from one of her neighbours who was worried about her. Calls to the first hospital were answered with the line that she had been released after the first night. Eventually, one of the nurses that had been on duty at the time we were sent away, took one of the calls and was able to direct them to the second hospital.

She came back into the ward from the phone to tell me that the power in our area had been restored on Friday night. The hospital, however, would not release us until they had confirmation of this.

I asked for the loan of their phone directory and spent a couple of hours going through the listings looking for someone living in a street I would recognise as being close to mine. Eventually I found a listing for someone living three doors away!! (I only know my immediate next-door neighbour). The hospital phoned them and, on having the information confirmed, arranged for an ambulance to take us home.

Such an exciting weekend - I hope the Queen had one just as merry.

At least I was safe (although Lily came down with some lurgy within days of getting home).

The storms wreaked so much havoc and lives were lost. They are still cutting dead and damaged branches off trees. Mine is a minor story, I know, and I am almost at the stage now where I can look back and get a laugh out of it. Almost. There must be lots of people who were affected much more seriously.

Any other a2kers with a storm tale to tell??

Winter is back with a vengeance!