FLEEING THE DANGER ZONE
LOCAL COUPLE FLEES AFFECTED AREA AS CYCLONE INTENSIFIES
Shepparton couple Kelsey Magill and Jameson Fletcher are among thousands of people who have evacuated the Whitsundays as Cyclone Debbie looms over parts of Queensland.
The pair was holidaying in Airlie Beach at the weekend but cut the trip short as news of the impending cyclone spread.
With their flights cancelled, and unable to hire a vehicle because of their ages, they boarded a bus for a costly 20-hour trip to the Gold Coast.
The Bureau of Meteorology warned the Category 3 Cyclone Debbie was set to increase to Category 4 strength by this morning, and is forecast to be the worst since Cyclone Yasi six years ago.
Shepparton’s Kelsey Magill and her fiance´ Jameson Fletcher were not expecting to be caught up in evacuations for the worst cyclone Far North Queensland has seen in six years when they flew into the Whitsundays on Saturday.
Cyclone Debbie was expected to intensify to a Category 4 system as it made landfall late last night or early today between Rollingstone and Proserpine.
Just 25 km north-east of Proserpine is Airlie Beach, the gateway to the Whitsunday Islands and where Ms Magill and Mr Fletcher planned to spend the weekend.
The couple had been booked to fly out of the Whitsundays to Brisbane yesterday, however the trip did not quite go to plan.
Despite hearing about the impending cyclone on Saturday night, the couple was looking forward to a boat cruise.
‘‘We arrived at the boat check-in at 6.30 am on Sunday morning to be told that it had been cancelled, which we were not informed of,’’ Miss Magill said.
During the weekend many locals warned the couple there would be no way to catch a planned f light out because of the weather.
‘‘Sunday morning was pretty stressful. We kept updated with the cyclone by watching the local news which mentioned that everyone in Airlie Beach needed to either evacuate or stay indoors,’’ Miss Magill said.
‘‘Our hotel was only booked for the two nights and we really just wanted to get out of there when we heard the news.
‘‘We knew there was no way we would be able to fly out as all the f lights on Sunday got cancelled, so Monday would have just been worse.’’
They began searching for hire cars but because Miss Magill and Mr Fletcher are aged under 25 and are not fully licensed they were unable to hire a vehicle.
‘‘We went to a local travel information centre at Airlie Beach and asked a lady there about public transport to Brisbane,’’ Miss Magill said.
‘‘The only option was a 20-hour bus ride.
‘‘I rang my dad and asked him what to do. We spoke about maybe getting transport to Mackay and getting a plane from Mackay, but in the end (we) just thought it would be safer and easier to catch the bus to Brisbane.’’
The couple was forced to pay $250 a head for the bus ride, which Miss Magill described as disappointing as it was not part of the couple’s plans or budget.
Arriving at the Gold Coast yesterday afternoon, Miss Magill said they planned to stay for six nights and hopefully have a more enjoyable time.
‘‘I’m very thankful we found that travel information centre because that bus was our only option,’’ she said.
‘‘It was very stressful but we had our parents helping us on the phone along with my travel agent back in Shepparton, who is also keeping me updated about our future f light.’’ ● More stories, page 15.