KatrinaI have been watching the news and reading papers (both national and international), about Hurricane Katrina that devastated parts of the U.S. It is a terrible terrible thing. And I really feel for all those affected. The damage seems so widespread, and I think it'll be a long time before things are back to some semblence of normal.
It has also brought back some memories for me too.
In March 1988, Cyclone* Bola struck the east coast of the North Island. It caused devastating floods as torrential rain fell for three days non-stop, and winds of more than 100 kilometres per hour toppled trees and tore off roofs. The heavy rains caused landslides, cut power and sewage services. Water from Lake Tutira broke its banks and cut off farms and all roads leading out of the area were swept away by floodwaters.
I was on a school camp (high school camp with 60 girls aged about 13) to Lake Tutira when the Cyclone hit. It was a frightening experience, luckily we weren't camping in tents, but in an actual building that was situated on farmland, above the lake. The water had risen so high that the road and all surrounding areas had flooded, all roads were gone.
We were, in effect, trapped at the camp. Once the rain had stopped, the teachers notified authorities and things happened very quickly after that. An army helicopter was brought in to take us back to Napier. It could only take 4 passengers at a time, so space was at a premium, therefore we were not allowed to take any of our bags with us. Only what we were wearing (as you can imagine, this went down well with 60 plus fussy 13 year olds).
Well, we were a resourceful bunch, and we managed to wear most of our clothes on us, layer upon layer and we shoved toothbrushes and cosmetics in any pocket we could find. We looked like tiny michelin men.
We were evacuated out in our groups to dry land and then bused home. A rather shocking and dramatic end to a school camp.
Funnily enough, that was the last school camp the school ever did for students.
*Cyclone is an atmospheric closed circulation rotating anti-clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere Cyclones are called Hurricanes (and so ends your meterological lesson for today.)
Tart at 11:15 PM |
