I do not often pray, but I am praying for the friends and people in the path of this monster.

I am going to try to be aware, be concerned, but as I am not in physical danger, give my friends who are, more assistance by not allowing my health to decline due to my fears for them.  Here out of the cyclones path we will be of more help if we are fit and equipped to roll up our selves and do an extra few hours work once this s over and be able to send money to help out in what will be a massive clean up and rescue operation even as others are going on around the country from flooding.

I read a tip on a forum post I am going to try to stick to.  It suggested that if you are not immediately personally affected by the cyclone to only listen to the news for up to 30 minutes every half hour.  There is a temptation to put the news channel on and live through the ordeal and grieve non stop for days.  I have done that for other serious weather events and fires even when not personally in danger and it can take a tole on my fitness and cause a decline in health.  That is not going to help those in danger or affected in the aftermath, one iota.  So while not being callous and appearing to not caring, I have set news rations in place as from now. I am already deeply worried about friends and the general population in Yasi's path and was brought to tears listening to Queensland Premier Bligh's  most recent address to the people in the affected are, on TV.

Hard for me to talk positive or blog about happy things when I am so genuinely afraid for people. 

I don't often pray but  I am praying for the people of North Queensland.
Maintaining my health by not over stressing the situation from the safety of Victoria in the south will make be far better equipped to offer what help I can to my friends in the north in Yasi's aftermath. 

 Larger view Monster Cyclone Yasi Eyes Australia in NASA Image

Mass evacuations are underway in the northeastern Australian state of Queensland in anticipation of what forecasters expect will be the largest cyclone ever to hit the continent. Yasi has intensified rapidly and currently has winds gusting up to 295 kilometers per hour (183 mph). It is expected to maintain that intensity—equivalent to a Category Five hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale--until landfall in northeastern Queensland between Cairns and Innisfail during the late evening local time on Feb. 2 (early morning Feb. 2 in the United States).

This is an area of Australia Reg and I love and we will be spending May and June 2011 enjoying the pristine air and scenery of this magnificent scenery as often as we can. 

We will base camp at Waterloo Bay on the western side of the Eyre Peninsula for 6 to 7 weeks then cross the Nullarbor.  At this time of year whales are prolific at the head of the bite it is a wonderful whale watching experience.

We are so fortunate that there is still so many areas of pristine clean water around Australia. Fish caught so close to the Great Australian Bite on the south coast of Australia would surely be from one of the least polluted waterways on the planet.

I have friends who own a riverside shack on the lower reaches of the Murray River in South Australia.  For a few years recently they lived without site of the river it had receded to such an extent.   Now they are probable living with the river at their door or have vacated.   This is part of the reason why there are laws that these shacks are not to be developed but only maintained, the land is a flood plain in years of good rain.

Waters lap at shacks in Riverland.

Rising waters threaten a shack along the Murray at Morgan (ABC News: James Hancock)

Most shacks along the Murray at Morgan in South Australia have been vacated and belongings moved higher ahead of an expected peak in the river level during February.

Dean Lawler is one of the few shack owners still at his property and says many others were vacated weeks ago.

"They've got water lapping at sort of up to their shacks now," he said.

Mr Lawler said Morgan was now quiet and many holidaymakers seemed to have gone elsewhere because of concern about the rising river and risk of mosquito-borne disease.

Another local Ron Mackereth says he has seen it all before.

"We've just got to sit it out. [In] about a month's time we'll have a much better idea of what's going to happen," he said.

The river is expected to see a daily flow of about 90,000 megalitres next month.

Loxton-Waikerie mayor Leon Stasinowsky doubts the high flow will pose much threat to river towns.

"That's sort of 3,000 megs less than the '92 flood, so I feel that certainly our council and most others will be able to work within that and [the] most important thing is we've been assured we'll be given adequate notice as to when that peak is going to reach us," he said.

I live on a flood plain during summer, myself and I think if you choose to build and live in these areas the onus is on yourself to not invest too heavily in the infrastructure and contents and not to expect society to come and bail you out, pay for the damage if you are flood infected. living in a river valley does have it's ups and downs.   My home was damaged in the recent floods. That's my expense not something I would ever expect the tax payer or charitable services to fix for me.  That is my philosophy.    We cannot rebuild expensive structures in the same manner as before if the previous one was damaged and say 'this was a once in 100 year flood', it was not a once in 100 year flood, it will happen again, we have to learn from experience.

A campaign is being urged to teach Australians to love 'ugly' fruit.

I know I have been turned off by the quality and price of fresh fruit and Vegetables and I am living on the produce in my own vegetable and fruit garden and some frozen or tinned produce and buying very little fresh vegetables as the affordable ones are in my opinion fit for the pig bin not human consumption.  When i run out of the current supply, if the frozen variety is better than fresh I will continue to use frozen products before I will eat limp vegetables.  I do not mind marks n the outer skin, it us just spongy half bad vegetables are beyond ugly they are rubbish and that is what some shops are offering us at huge prices at the moment.

Independent Senator Nick Xenophon is keen that fruit and vegetable imports be kept to a minimum, despite food shortages in flood-affected states.

He is urging retailers and consumers to support Australian farmers, even if local produce is slightly damaged or more expensive in the next few months.

Senator Xenophon says a campaign could highlight the beauty of imperfect Australian fruit and veges.

"Just because fruit and vegetables might have a few blemishes, they're just as good to eat," he said.



Shortages of fresh food prompt a call to promote ugly fruit and vegetables to consumers

• Related Story: Floods 'don't justify' food price hikes
• Related Story: Consumers to pay for flood farm damage
• Related Story: Woolworths cuts profit forecast after floods

Queensland Flood Emergency.

Up to 80 trucks are stranded on the side of road in Halfway Ck Nth of Coffs Harbour they're waiting to get through to Brisbane & may have to wait till Friday before road opens!

Anyone near them please take them food &drinks. Some of them keep dogs in their trucks so may need dog food too.

These guy and girls are hard workers stranded far from home, without them, Australia Stops, please help.

In the grief we are experiencing in Australia, this morning at the shocking devastation of flooding in this country, let's not forget we are a world community.

This morning South Africa and Brazil are sharing Australia's plight within their own country. My deepest sympathies to everyone suffering though the current weather pattern.

The natural disaster of extreme weather is not ours (Australia) alone. 


More than 30 likely killed in S.African floods | Top News | Reutersaf.reuters.comJOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - At least 30 people may have been killed and about 1,000 homes damaged by floods in South Africa in the past week, a government estimate showed on Wednesday.

The neighbours are worried about the whole oat field catching fire, now. 
The remnants of the burnt haystack has fire re-ignited in the paddock and the have a large fire with acrid smoke 100 meters away.  Neighbours are out watching the oat fields, although the rain was heavy and the gutters still flooded the oat field will dry out quickly this hot summer night, we need a drenching rain now or the fire brigade back watching the paddock.

 Congratulations to Rebecca Richards, of Adelaide University, for becoming Australia’s first Indigenous Rhodes Scholar.

Anthropology student Rebecca Richards, 23, will study a Masters of Philosophy when she enrols at Oxford University next September.

She said her interest in anthropology started when she was 14 and did some field work in the Flinders Ranges.

"The information gained on this fieldwork was later used in the determination of native title of those lands," she said.

"I am so passionate about the repatriation of Indigenous objects, languages and associated knowledge to Indigenous communities."

Ms Richards grew up in the SA Riverland on her family's fruit block.

She has custodial responsibilities for her family site, Pukatu, and other women's sites in the remote Flinders Ranges.

Updated 1 hour 39 minutes ago

  The towns of Undera and Kotupna are on flood watch.

  Residents in north-east Victoria are on alert after a major flood watch was issued for parts of the Goulburn River.

The State Emergency Service expects the lower Goulburn River near McCoy's Bridge to peak around 10 metres.

Spokesman Keith O'Brien says the peak will not directly impact on any homes, but some roads may be cut off in the towns of Kotupna and Undera.

He says the flooding may affect about 24 homes in both towns.

"We're just wanting to make sure that they're all aware ... just be in touch with your neighbours to make sure they know the peak should come through in the early hours of the morning," he said.

He says they have now been advised by local catchment authorities that the levy banks at Kotupna had temporary repairs finalised on Friday and should hold.

"But we also had some concerns about levy banks from the Undera area down towards the McCoy's Bridge."

Several properties downstream of the bridge have already been isolated by flood waters.

Penny Power's property at Yambuna is one of several that are cut off by the flood waters.

"You could get out in a boat or a tractor, but it's a bit deep this morning for four wheel drives," she said.

"I've checked our levee banks this morning and, we're not in any threatening situation unless something blows out somewhere upstream, or even here."

Reg and I chose a good day, yesterday for our drive though Shepparton down to Melbourne.  The flood peak had not occurred as yet and the flood was more a scenic feature than a nuance for drivers on the main highway.
It was a beautiful day for the drive and we enjoyed the view of the river red gum forests in flood ans we have so often last spring.   Overnight those areas we drove though experienced a rise in water level and by the time we return home the waters will have subsided a little.  The views will still be lovely. 

The news yesterday said :- Access to parts of Shepparton in Victoria's north-east could be cut by rising floodwater today.  (Our summer studio is 6 kilometers out of Shepparton, between the Goulburn and Broken Rivers.)

Residents in the Kialla Lakes Estate, in the city's south, have been told to be prepared to have limited access for about 24 hours.

It is the same area that was badly affected by flooding when the Broken River flooded in September.

The SES says the flooded Goulburn and Broken rivers and Seven Creeks will isolate some properties and block roads.

The river levels are expected to peak today, below the September levels.