By Roy Weavers

It is now late Saturday afternoon just about two hours after Cyclone Ita blew through and I’ve just come back from Port Douglas having admired the Douglas Shire Council workers and SES moving into immediate action in our main Macrossan Street to clear the two trees that were blown down across the road by the accompanying.  

Watching them in operation the word professional comes to mind.

Which is more than can be said for the way this whole Cyclone Ita episode has been reported by our national media.  

The sight of Melissa Doyle from Channel 7 being reprimanded by a local on Four Mile Beach for selecting a broadcast location that portrayed the worst possible view of the beach was quite enlightening.  And to her credit Melissa apologised for not taking the consequences of using such an unrepresentative spot to broadcast into consideration.

Every sensational live cross illustrated the cyclonic winds at their fiercest even though the Cyclone very kindly never really reached its climax within our area.  

Right through the whole event, the majority of the town was enjoying the company of good friends and family knowing they had done everything in their power to safeguard themselves and their property. And it was just a matter of time to see how fierce or otherwise the storm would be.

The sight of one earnest TV reporter trying hard to stick to his overly dramatised report about the destructive winds and flash flood warnings while a bunch of crazy Port Douglas residents were running around behind him on the main street in Superman, Batman, Spiderman and other mixed fancy dress costumes enjoying the peace and quiet of the normally busy thoroughfare, was almost embarrassing.

It's a good job our disaster management teams don’t take the sensational approach isn't it?

Otherwise they’d spend more time showboating than actually getting on with the job in hand of getting the region back to work as they always do.  But then I suppose that doesn't help the TV ratings or boost your circulation!

Naturally there should be warnings about potential natural disasters but why can’t we just have the facts instead of all the drama?

I'm all for opinion pieces but not when a journalist or expert is reporting on a situation as serious as a cyclone that hasn't even hit yet.  It's the facts that matter. How the reporter feels about the situation has no place in the news report.

Opinion and spin too early in a report especially about a potential natural disaster has serious consequences.  It not only instils unnecessary additional fear into the already fearful matter but by exaggerating the circumstances it has immediate consequences especially to a tourist town like Port Douglas.

Cyclone Ita was identified as being on its way towards the far north Queensland coast over seven days out after it had done its destructive worst to the Solomon Islands.

The Far North is an experienced region when it comes to cyclones. All councils have cyclone management plans and residents take every warning seriously.  

Port Douglas has not been directly hit for many years.  But you won’t find any complacency amongst the locals.  They know it only takes one cyclone to arrive and being underprepared is not an option.

So it doesn’t need a bunch of attention seeking weather 'personalities' coming into town to whip up the frenzy and add their own particular brand of sensationalism to a national circus. It takes peoples eye off the ball and can make them forget how seriously the real situation should be taken.

In 1911 Port Douglas experienced a cyclone (they didn't name them in those days) which coincidentally followed more or less the same path as Ita. Back then Port was a very different place and suffered badly at the cyclones hands leaving only seven of the 57 houses still standing and taking two peoples lives.

TC Ita, which only passed by claimed no one's life and only managed to uproot a handful of trees, which have all been tidied up now.

By all means use your sensational language on the after effects of a cyclone.

Cooktown, for example, bore the worst of this cyclones fury and lost some high profile roofs including its iconic museum but the buildings age has quite a bit to do with that result. But nevertheless, that is news!

Modern building techniques have ensured damage is kept to a minimum in houses built after 1985 and Port Douglas is a relatively modern urbanisation.

Colourful reporting has its place but a balance must be maintained.  Exaggerating to the nation and the world creates devastating economic damage far worse in most cases than any cyclone achieves.  I don’t blame people from outside the region from being scared from the drama being reported.  We all were!  But if the event wasn't so over dramatised, it would be easier to get over back to routine at the earliest moment instead of having to spend weeks convincing frightened visitors that it really is OK and there isn't another one lurking just off the coast. 

Let's get back to professional reporting. Reporting you can trust. Reporting that gives you the facts to be able to re plan your well earned holiday plans at the earliest possible time.

Of course, I’m biased, but I am profoundly proud of how The Newsport expressed itself before, during and after TC Ita. If anyone wanted to know exactly what was happening in our regions they simply had to visit www.thenewsport.com.au. And the facts and effects were set out for easy and comprehensive access.  

National media operations should be learning a lesson and stop behaving like over excited teenagers every time someone says the word 'cyclone' !

As I finish my article, I see the sun is out and the road sweepers are hoovering up the debris of leaves and branches. 

It appears the excitement of the weekend is over and it’s business as usual.  

See you for the Easter Holidays which is just next weekend!