As the people in Cooktown woke up to the reality of destruction and damage this morning, and we all watch the footage on TV’s 24 hour coverage, each of us is reminded of a natural disaster we might have lived through.

Most Aussies, by the mature age of 60 have lived through at least one disaster, if not many many more.  From the horrors of Cyclone Tracy to the devastation of the Ash Wednesday fires, the Queensland floods in 2011 or the Brisbane floods in 74, Black Saturday bushfires , 1982/83 droughts,  or the Canberra bushfires… among many more.  Each of these have etched into our minds what it is like to live through mother nature’s taunts in fear, wondering what things will look like afterwards and how widespread the damage will be.

Early reports this morning are that the damage in Cooktown is nowhere near as bad as it could have been.  The Mayor of the Shire, Mayor Peter Scott, said his region, often compared in size to the size of Victoria has only had reports of damage to dozens of homes and buildings.

For a town that is used to preparing well,  and is a regular target of cyclones, it is a big sigh of relief.

“People need to take a big breath today,” he said.

“I’m astounded we did not cop more damage by the sheer number and size of the trees down.

“It might be a day, maybe longer, before power is back.”

Cyclone Ita was downgraded to a category four storm before she hit the far North Queensland coast with winds of approx. 200km/hr overnight.  She has since lost a lot of power and been downgraded to a category 2 storm.   Ita hit far north Queensland’s coast with wind speeds of up to 200km an hour, before weakening to a category two storm.

Ergon Energy said at 8am this morning that there was approximately 7000 homes without power.  Cairns airport has been closed since midnight to all air traffic until further notice.  And some Telstra services have been lost, as expected.

Major flood warnings have been issued for the Daintree coast and trees are down in the centre of town in Cairns as the storms route now tracks south.  Flooding is expected to be the next concern for the region.

But we come back to our original point… Most of us have lived through the horror and fear of a natural disaster.  I was a bystander in the SEQ Floods in 2011, watching as the rivers rose and flooded my Dad’s business my husband’s workplace and many people’s homes.  Even when it hasn’t destroyed your home, it is still challenging to watch.  It is also important to remember how the community stepped in to help.  Something in Brisbane that was monumental!

So, let’s remember together today… share your natural disaster experience.