PETRIFYING ROAR TOOK OFF ROOFS Residents count cost in aftermath
WHEN his roof started to rattle early yesterday, Lewis Bau knew it was time to flee Cyclone Debbie’s wrath.
Mr Bau was at his Mount Nutt Rd home in Bowen with his stepmother when the Category 4 storm hit on Tuesday.
As the system intensified throughout the day and kept roaring into the night, his 60year- old low- set home started d shaking. “We got out about t 2am, we knew the roof was s going to go,” he said.
The kitchen, at the rear of f the building, has been left exposed after the roof was torn off by cyclonic winds.
Asbestos- ridden debris was strewn throughout the backyard yesterday where saturated chickens were left to run.
The kitchen’s walls were destroyed with rain flooding in through an exposed doorway, inundating the adjoining lounge room.
Furniture and carpet were drenched as the family’s paintings and ornaments were left damp from the moisture.
“We don’t know what we’re going to do yet,” Mr Bau said.
“We evacuated ( my) brother’s Queens Beach.
“We haven’t had any tucker for two days, that’s why I came back, to raid the fridge. “We needed some clothes.” Mr Bau said he and his stepmother were lucky to get out when they did.
“The house shook pretty bad, it was roaring,” he said.
“There were big gusts then you could hear the roof coming loose. You could hear the sheets loosening up.”
Mr Bau said he hoped in- down place to at surance would cover the extensive damages.
“The insurance like taking your money but they won’t give you any back,” he said. “We can’t come back here. “The trouble with these old houses is asbestos. “ Bowen continued to be hit by torrential rain last night as the sound of generators roared across town. Locals have slowly started to rebuild with many clearing debris and ensuring their homes were safe to enter. Some helped to clear stormwater drains and remove branches from roads while others sat on their patios contemplating how they would approach the clean- up.
For Gary Prior, Debbie was the worst cyclone he had ever experienced. He said he saw his neighbour’s roof fly off.
“It was a really loud crack,” he said. “He had evacuated to his friend’s house — the glass shattered and things broke.”
The ceiling in the bedroom of Mr Prior’s 12- year- old daughter buckled and cracked as rain