Self evacuations start as Port storm surge centre opens
Self evacuations start as Douglas storm surge centre opens
Friday April 11 2014
Douglas Shire residents living in areas vulnerable to a storm tide surge are being urged to find alternative accommodation.
Tropical Cyclone Ita is forecast to cross between Cape Melville and Cooktown this evening or tonight as a category five tropical cyclone with winds of up to 300 kilometres per hour near the core.
Police and emergency service providers are door knocking in the region and advising all residents living in red and orange zones to self evacuate.
Accommodation providers in these zones are also arranging alternative accommodation for guests.
The Port Douglas Storm Tide Cyclone Shelter will be open from 2pm today and closing doors at 5pm.
The shelter can accommodate up to 700 people.
The centre will not provide food, or cater for pets and will be a sitting room only.
Tropical Cyclone Ita could cross the coast and go west, or continue to track down the coast.
Based on current forecasts, Douglas Shire mayor Leu said around 200 properties may flood in the region.
"The worst case scenario is a storm surge that potentially affects hundreds of properties, particularly around Port Douglas," Cr Leu said.
The Bureau of Meteorology are forecasting high tides to come in around 7:30 Saturday morning at around 2.5 metres.
Anyone who requires emergency shelter at the centre as a result of being in the storm tide surge zone needs to bring their own water, toilet paper and ready-prepared food.
Senior Constable Damian Meadows said the shelter should be used as a last resort for people with nowhere else to go.
"Try and source any other accommodation and exhaust all other options where possible," he said.
"The last port of call is the storm tide shelter.
"Once that facility is locked down you will not get out until the all clear is given."
Sen. Const. Meadows said Tropical Cyclone Ita had the potential to be a deadly weather event.
"It's not a game, it's not a gimmick. It has catastrophic effects and this will have a huge impact across the shire," he said.
"We need to know that people are activating their plans and activating them properly.
"We don't want people standing outside facing the wind and that sort of thing.
"They need to enact their plans and be responsible about how they're going to ride this thing through."
In Port Douglas authorities are currently door knocking at Solina Close, parts of Sorrento Crescent, Helmet Street, Baler Street, the eastern end of Trochus Close and Limpet Avenue, and residences on Nautilus Street and Endeavour Street.
Similar door knocks are occurring in Newell Beach, Wonga Beach and Cooya Beach.
Authorities said a sticker indicating whether you live in an orange or red zone should be on resident's electricity boxes.
The SES Storm Emergency number is 132 500.
Please continue to monitor the Douglas Shire Council website for local updates.
The Port Douglas Storm Tide Shelter is located at the Port Douglas State School in Endeavour St should only be utilised as a last resort when there is an imminent threat of storm tide inundation as a result of Cyclone Ita.
Families and elderly bunker down at shelter
A family of Victorian tourists will spend at least part of their holiday bunkered down in the cyclone shelter.
Tania Piner, her husband Charlie, identical twins Hamish and Charlie and younger sister Evie came to Port Douglas at the behest of Ms Piner's fatally ill mother.
"It was her wish that we came up here when she was dying because she always wanted to come here and couldn't make it," she said.
"We've come up during the Victorian school holidays and now we've got a cyclone."
The family was travelling in a group with seven adults and five children, Ms Piner said, all of whom will be taking refuge at the shelter.
"We were staying at a resort in Port Douglas and they were really helpful but we just thought it'd be safer to come here for the evening," she said.
"We feel fine. It's out of our control now. We're in a cyclone shelter that's purposely built for these sort of conditions, so we'll just go with the flow."
Port Douglas resident Art Dore chose to self evacuate from his Baler Street home on Friday afternoon.
Mr Dore, who broke his hip in December, said this was the best and safest option for him.
"I feel a lot safer now that I'm here," he said.
"I've got big glass windows on all my walls and there's a lot of stuff in the neighbourhood that could blow them out. I don't feel safe there."
