Larry has passed and the town of Innisfail in North Qld is almost gone. Babinda, though, was the worst hit, with over 80% of the town destroyed.
The worst part is that because of the rain (and it;s still raining up there) there is massive flooding which is hampering efforts to get relief to those who desperately need it.
There have been major government pledges of financial assistance to both people and the businesses that have suffered, however that's also delayed.
Complaints from people who ahve waited for over 5 hours to get emergency funds from social security offices abound. I can understand the frustration, but can also see the other side. They're using local offices with the local staff - who would be in the same boat as those they're trying to help.
I know everybody is suffering, but perhaps the best idea would be for the business to give credit to the locals, and keep the records (name and address) and then submit that to Social Security for reimbursement. Then, at least, people would be able to get the food they need, without having to stand in the rain waiting for cash.
This really has been devastation for us in Queensland - we've had cyclones before, but none in the "end of the world" category, and I, for one, can now fully understand what New Orleans went through with Katrina
Damage is estimated to be about 1 billion Aussie $$
But... Australia has a great history of rebuilding after cylone devastation.
Darwin, in 1974, was razed by Cyclone Tracy, and used that opportunity to build bigger, better and safer.