Desert Storm – "Landicane" Hits Australia
Rebecca Lollback
September 23, 2008
Rebecca Lollback
Northern Territory News
A SEVERE storm ripped through Alice Springs yesterday with winds up to 110km/h tearing uprooting trees and tearing down roofs and powerlines.
Photo: A couple take cover behind a war memorial on top of Anzac Hill.
Heavy rain also caused flash flooding, and a widespread power failure blacked out the town's traffic lights and cut electricity to most homes.
The storm - which was described by some residents as being "like a hurricane" - hit the town at 1.20pm.
Dust was swept into the air and turned the sky red.
Cars were smashed by falling trees, roofs were destroyed and police directed traffic around the debris.
Motorists were warned to stay off the roads unless trips were essential.
The weather bureau said 18mm of rain was recorded at Alice Plaza.
Businesses were forced to close their doors and workers joined in the clean-up effort around town.
Power and Water's area manager Alan Whyte said teams would work through the night to restore power to affected areas.
"The majority of homes in Alice Springs were without power after the storm,'' he said.
"The Gap, Sadadeen, Larapinta, Braitling, Gillen, Bradshaw, Araluen - everywhere was affected.
"There were major problems on the North Stuart Highway, with some big trees down.''
Mr Whyte said Power and Water was prioritising the work but said some homes would be without power for a "number of hours'', and it was expected that some areas would not be restored until "sometime'' today.
"We've got a crew from Tennant Creek coming and we're also considering flying a crew down from Darwin,'' he said.
Photo: A wild tunderstorm ripped through Alice Springs at approximately 1pm felling trees, closing businesses and causing numerous amounts of property damage.
"We have enough staff in Alice for normal situations, but this is not a normal situation.
"I've never seen anything like it, not in this town.''
NT Emergency Service volunteers from Darwin also arrived in town this morning to help with the massive clean-up effort.
NTES regional manager Rob Romaldi said they had worked under "extremely difficult conditions'', cutting up and removing trees.
"They have worked tirelessly and done an outstanding job,'' he said.
http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2008/09/23/6080_ntnews.html
www.standeyo.com/NEWS/08_Earth_Changes/080924.AU.desert.storm.html