In the wake of Cylone Yasi

When I arrived at James Cook University in Townsville many people on campus kept telling me, "It usually looks much prettier than this". While that may be true, the aftermath of Cyclone Yasi was still a sight to behold.

a pulverised shed outside Uni Hall

A down tree next to the sign for the Rotary International House, where I live

The storm made landfall in between Townsville and Cairns, a city located about 280km up the coast. Yasi was a category 5 cyclone, mind you (the same force as Hurricane Katrina).

The impeded view out of a door at University (Uni) Hall

It's very difficult to communicate the magnitude of the damage through pictures. This panorama shows the damage a bit better in one parking lot.

The damage I saw first-hand was that which occurred at JCU. Yasi had knocked out power to the entire campus and most of Townsville. Mighty trees had been felled by the wind and now hung draped lifelessly over car parks and the occasional unfortunate shed. Many trees were uprooted all together. Sections of road had also been completely washed out.

I was surprised by the timely clean-up efforts that took place here (although clean-up is an understatement). Road crews worked diligently to repair roads and clear brush. By now its been close to a month since the cyclone made landfall, and things are looking a bit less out-of-sorts.