Collinsville takes stock

WHILE Bowen attempted to withstand the brunt of Cyclone Debbie, Collinsville readied itself for her imminent arrival.

The storm tore through the mining town about 80km inland from Bowen two hours after crossing the coast.

Giant trees that once towered over the town were uprooted, pulling down powerlines and narrowly missing homes.

Scattered storms continued to drench the town yesterday as creeks and causeways flooded.

Collinsville Hardware Store part- owner Peter Bosca said the cyclone was horrendous. “I’d rate it 20/ 10,” he said. “The damage is pretty ex- tensive, there’s a lot of minor damage and water inundation around town.”

Mr Bosca opened the store yesterday to help out locals.

“We’ve had the satellite phone on for people to use,” he said. “I reckon we’ve racked up probably five hours of calls.”

Mr Bosca said business had been busy with locals buying tarps, screws and barbecues.

“Our home was all right,” he said. “We were watching Crocodile Dundee as ( the cyc- lone) was roaring through. We were turning up the sound as she was coming through, trying to have a laugh.

“We’ve just been helping out the community with whatever they need.”

The town’s Foodworks store lost its roof, with rain making puddles on the shop’s floor yesterday while food sat saturated on the shelves.

Foodworks owner Brett O’Sullivan said he had no idea what he was going to do.

“( I) Just have to wait for the rain to stop and start cleaning it up,” he said. “I have insurance – we’ll have to wait and see. Everything that’s spoiled is already spoiled.”

Maryse Latourre, who