Wild storm in Newcastle and the Hunter Valley

That's where I live for those who are unaware. It's been a pretty miserable day weather-wise in my neighbourhood. At the moment I'm not rostered on Fridays so I was able to watch Game 1 of the Finals live this morning, until about halfway through the third quarter when the storm started disrupting the Foxtel signal which was eventually lost and didn't come back up until just after the third quarter buzzer. There were no more interruptions during the fourth quarter though.

Obviously that was a bit disappointing, especially as I couldn't follow the game online since I shut my PC down when the storm got really close but all things considered I certainly wasn't the unluckiest person around these parts today. One of the coal ships just off the coast become grounded this morning and though the entire crew is safely off the ship, the ship has started to leak fuel.

Apparently more ships are sending SOS signals. An elderly couple were also swept off a bridge in their car earlier today, so far they haven't be found.

good luck bro. hopefully everything works out alright.

Andrew, don't die on us yet.

Thanks.

I'm far enough in-land so I should be fine, though I'm not too sure about all the people that have gone in to Nobby's Beach to watch the whole spectacle. I wouldn't like to be on the road at the moment.

i wish there were no accidents and tragedies like these coz people's lives are really really important to them.. hmm.. why do these things happen... glad ur alright andrew..

Going by the news it is pretty crazy up there. Hope it settles down quickly and those missing are found. The ship that has ran aground is a big concern. Would do a hell of a lot of environmental damage. Hopefully it will survive the storm until it can be moved to a safer position.

It certainly hasn't been the most fun couple of days. A whole lot of people are worse off than I am and there were a few fatalities involving people who got stuck on the roads but I am without power at the moment, meaning I have to make alternative arrangements to get online over the next few days. Crazy stuff all over the place though, a lot of low-lying areas in the city were flooded with cars swept away and trees blowing over (which is what took out the power at my place). My Dad actually had to spend the night in his store because he was trapped by the storms on Friday night, fortunately he's OK.

So...I'm OK but if I'm not around much the next couple of days, you'll know why.

Everything will be fine, Andrew. Let's not hope that it's not yet the end of the world.

That would be a little melodramatic. It's certainly inconvenient though.

"Adding humor to the thread"

I'm sure I've read that line somewhere in the forums.