Cyclone Evan

We dodged a bullet where I live. This one was a Cat 4, but hit the other side of the Island. What you see is what we got for 36 hours. 

All is well now. The sun is out and the sky is blue

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Ding dong the cyclone is gone

Well it looks like cyclone Tomas has missed us. By the time it finished ravaging the North and East of the country it moved far enough East not to affect us. I am hoping to go fishing this weekend and have some fish pictures for you all. Thank you for all of your support.

From tomas

Fiji is in the middle of the image and Tomas cannot be seen. The cyclone to the left is Ului and it is threatening Queensland Australia. It destroyed the Solomon's as a Cat 5, the biggest there is.

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Tropical Cyclone Tomas update

Where I am, we have yet to feel the full force of Tomas. That said we are prepared for the worst and as Shoreman from Northern California Trout suggested, I have tied my ass to a palm tree. Thank you all for the thoughts and encouragement.

Here are a couple of images.

From tomas

From tomas

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Tropical cyclone Tomas

Living in the tropics has all kinds of benefits, sandy beaches, warm water, great fishing and the list goes on. There is also a down side, a dark side, a side that is darn right scary,

From tomas

You are looking at Tropical cyclone Tomas and the out line just below it is Fiji. As I am typing this the wind is blowing quite strong and the rain is coming off and on. Tomas is moving so slow that it is not expected to hit fully until late tomorrow or the next day. It is a Cat 2 right now but is predicted to be a Cat 4 in the next 24hours with winds up to 200+kmph.

We will finish preparing and then hunker down for the big blow. I will keep you all posted.

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We survived Cyclone Mick

Well we survived cyclone Mick. The power just came back on last night. Kudos to the Fiji Electric Authority for wanting to make money. There is a little trickle of water. Enough that I do not have to bath with swimming pool water. No real damage to the house or our lives. But I will say Mother Natures way of trimming the yard is a little brutal. Not what I would have done, but with a little chainsaw work and a lot of raking we'll have it right.

My boat faired much better than the yard. I moved it up the river and into the mangroves where she spent the night calm and quiet.

Here is a couple more images of the storm and when I get Rosie's video together I will post that.

From cyclone mick

This is just before it really got strong for us and also the last image I was able to get until it passed.

From cyclone mick

This is the last of it as it left us.

The storm lasted 9 hours before we got to the eye. Then a 2 hour break and the wind picked up again. Lucky for us the back side was not as strong and only lasted another 2 hours.

The town of Navua is 10km from us, and it was completely flooded. The flood reached almost 6 km from the river. 4 people lost their lives and most farmers lost their livelihood.

That was the first for the season and there is a total of 8 predicted for this season.

The fun is just beginning.

Thank you all for you kind words and thoughts. It is always nice to know people are supporting you in you life struggles.

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Cyclone Mick update 3

Getting closer and windier.

Update on cyclone Mick

The winds they are a blowin'. It is starting to feel a lot like Christmas. After all it is cyclone season and we should expect nothing less than a few of them to pass by. Unfortunately this one is passing right through.

Special Weather Bulletin Number SIX for Fiji ON TROPICAL CYCLONE MICK  ISSUED FROM RSMC NADI at 1:14am on Monday the 14th of December 2009  

TROPICAL  CYCLONE WARNING.  A TROPICAL CYCLONE GALE WARNING REMAINS IN FORCE FOR VANUA LEVU, TAVEUNI, VITI LEVU, YASAWA AND MAMANUCA, LOMAIVITI GROUP AND NEARBY SMALLER ISLANDS. A TROPICAL CYCLONE ALERT REMAINS IN FORCE FOR THE REST OF FIJI.  A STRONG WIND WARNING REMAINS IN FORCE FOR ROTUMA.  

TROPICAL CYCLONE MICK [995HPA] CENTRE CAT 1 WAS LOCATED NEAR 15 DECIMAL 5 SOUTH 176 DECIMAL 1 EAST OR ABOUT 290 KM NORTH-NORTHWEST OF NADI OR ABOUT 360 KM WEST-NORTHWEST OF LABASA AT 12 AM THIS MORNING. 

THE CYCLONE IS INTENSIFYING. CLOSE TO ITS CENTRE THE CYCLONE IS ESTIMATED TO HAVE AVERAGE WINDS UP TO 65 TO 75 KM/HR WITH MOMENTARY GUSTS TO 90 KM/HR. THE CYCLONE IS CURRENTLY MOVING SOUTH SOUTHEAST AT 20 KM/HR.  ON THIS FORECAST TRACK THE CYCLONE CENTRE IS EXPECTED TO LIE ABOUT 140 KM TO THE NORTH-NORTHWEST OF NADI OR ABOUT 260 KM WEST OF LABASA AT 12 PM TODAY AND ABOUT 40 KM TO THE NORTHEAST OF NADI OR ABOUT 205 KM WEST-SOUTHWEST OF LABASA AT  12AM TOMORROW.  

DESTRUCTIVE WINDS WILL BEGIN A FEW HOURS BEFORE THE CENTRE PASSES OVERHEAD OR NEARBY.   FOR VANUA LEVU, TAVEUNI, VITI LEVU, YASAWA AND MAMANUCA, LOMAIVITI GROUP AND NEARBY SMALLER ISLANDS:  STRONG WINDS INCREASING TO DAMAGING GALE FORCE WITH AVERAGE SPEEDS OF 65 TO 75 KM/HR WITH GUSTS  TO 90 KM/HR FROM TODAY.    

FOR THE REST OF FIJI: STRONG WINDS INCREASING TO DAMAGING GALE FORCE WITH AVERAGE SPEEDS OF 65 KM/HR WITH GUSTS  TO 85 KM/HR FROM TOMORROW NIGHT AND INTO TUESDAY.    FURTHER PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN AND SQUALLY THUNDERSTORMS. FLOODING INCLUDING SEA FLOODING OF LOW LYING COASTAL AREAS.  

FOR ROTUMA: NORTHERLY WINDS 35 TO 55 KM/HR WITH GUSTS TO 80 KM/HR. FURTHER RAIN, HEAVY AT TIMES AND SQUALLY THUNDERSTORMS. 

ROUGH TO VERY ROUGH SEAS. HEAVY NORTHWEST SWELL.  The following information is provided especially for the mariners: EXPECT WINDS OF 35 TO 40 KNOTS WITHIN 150 MILES OF CENTRE. HIGH SEAS. DAMAGING HEAVY NORTHWEST SWELLS.   POOR VISIBILITY IN HEAVY RAIN AND SQUALLY THUNDERSTORMS.  

THE NEXT SPECIAL WEATHER BULLETIN FOR FIJI WILL BE ISSUED AROUND 5.30 AM  TODAY.

Cyclone Mick come to Fiji

As you can see by the image above, I will not be fishing anytime soon.

I just got back from a week in Australia and came home to this.

Fiji is right in the middle and the light grey swirly thing in cyclone Mick.

It is predicted to hit us in about 20 hours.

My house is battened down and only worrying about my boat. But we have a plan in place and are ready.

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