Cyclone Wati, hanging around off the north Queensland coast in Cyclone Larry’s wake, is actingweird – Tim Blair

The bananas. Are all gone. For at least a year…So is a huge amount of sugar cane. And rambutans. And
lychees. Oh, the lychees, I miss them already. And heaps of other tropical
fruits… – Purple Giraffes

It began with a local Innisfail butcher. His
cold rooms started getting warm after Cyclone Larry cut the power to his shop,
so he found some big barbecues and began cooking his entire stock of steaks, chops,
sausages and rissoles for the very hungry locals. – Cyclone Larry Aftermath

Australia managed to have rescue and clean-up services on the ground
around Innisfail hours after the cyclone passed over. Peter Beattie was
up there pretty much the next day and two days after, John Howard has
also visited the devastated areas. Food, water and tents were sent up
as soon as was practical and emergency services are working hard to
restore water supplies and electricity to the area. – Larvatus Prodeo

The
water and sewerage systems are intact but power lines are down and it
could be anywhere from three days to a week before power is restored.
In the meantime portable generators are being delivered and put into
service to restore power to essential public services. – The Home of Ben J May, Hervey Bay

With the shift in the Southern Oscillation from El Nino to La Nina and
the long-term effects of global warming starting to become apparent, we
can expect more severe cyclones for at least the next few years, and a
general increase in the severity of storms and similar events. – John Quiggin