It’s been raining since Monday. A low pressure system off the coast has been beating down on us relentlessly, bringing with it winds gusting up to 125 km/hr.
We live on a hill, right on the beach. Our dead-end street is lined with trees that have fallen over, taking down the power lines with them.
We have no power – no internet, no hot water, no cook-top, no heating. Fortunately we have a gas camping stove and a tin kettle to make cups of tea.
The tree in our yard has dropped one of its largest branches. By some stroke of luck, it landed on the deck and missed all the windows. The TV aerial is on the back balcony, lying wedged between the house and the railing, still attached to cables.
There’s a gap in the reserve where until yesterday there were trees. We can see all the way to the bottom where a creek runs down the gully. The creek is swollen with water from the rain, making swirls of foam as it disappears beneath the undergrowth.
Where do the cockatoos go when it rains? Where are the kookaburras and the lorikeets? There is no bird song, only the rush of wind through the branches and the dripping of an overflowing drain pipe.
I have put fresh candles in the tea-light holders, ready for when the gloom turns into darkness. We have pieces of paper stuck in the doors and windows to stop them rattling.
The fire brigade were here early this morning, putting traffic cones around the fallen trees and power lines. They said we would have to wait for the electricity department to turn up. They haven’t arrived yet.
At least we are warm and dry, not huddled under a bridge trying to stay out of the weather. If I saw a homeless person, I’d invite him home to share our candlelight and our camping stove.
The rain and wind are meant to stop later tonight. I hope they do so we can get some sleep. And I hope the electricity crew turns up soon. It’s very quiet without the sound of the fridge.
This post is part of the April A to Z Challenge.
Update: I wrote this post yesterday. It is Wednesday morning and we still don’t have power which means I am unable right now to respond to all your comments on my other posts. I will get to them as soon as the power is back on. I hope we are rescued soon.
Good luck in getting all back to ‘normal’ Katie. You’re right, at least it’s not freezing cold or huddled under a bridge.
Thanks Susan x
There’s some crazy stuff going on up there. Good luck babe
Thanks Jadey.
I hope you get your power back soon. Thank God it is not the middle of winter!
Smidgen Snippets & Bits
Indeed – at least we weren’t freezing.
Great post. I hope your power returns soon!
Thanks Dorothy. It took four days but we got it back eventually.
Shit. I hope you get rescued soon, too. yuK! Be safe. <3
I’m more than a week late replying so you already know we got rescued.
Thanks for thinking of us x
Be safe Katie. Hoping this weather system blows over soon. Out in rural NSW we have been getting some wind and rain too, nothing like you guys on the coast though.
We survived, but still not back to normal.
As a positive though, I’m grateful every time I switch on the light.
That sounds intense, I’m lucky to live in a pretty chill area geographically when it comes to weather. I kind of enjoy power outages though, it’s like a mini adventure.
It did feel like we were camping but I soon got sick of it.
Now if only we could get our phone line working again.