It has been said that the reason Australia was so prepared for Cyclone Larry was because of what happened with Cyclone Katrina. Cyclone Katrina opened up Australia’s and probably most of the world eyes to the fact that “it could happen here”. Also learning from mistakes and possible problems that arose with Cyclone Katrina. John Howard said that if Cyclone Katrina hadn’t happened, then we wouldn’t of been as prepared as we were and that we could of lost thousands of lives and it could of possibly been as disastrous as Cyclone Katrina. There were people in New Orleans who refused to leave there homes saying ‘We’ve been here for 20 years and this has never happened.” However when evacuation started in the areas probable to be effected there was no trouble with anyone refusing to evacuate. This is probably why there were no casualties.

I work for Hydrology Engineers and I remember them saying shortly after Cyclone Katrina that Townsville (town in North Queensland) was as prone to flash flooding as New Orleans was. So it is also lucky that the cyclone wasn’t directly over Townsville.

In recent news today. The clean up efforts for North Queensland is today being effected by Torrential rain. The potential spread of disease is now a major concern as residents begin to rebuild there lives.

It is really good to see the communities pulling together in a time like this. Shopkeepers have been supplying free food to community.
If you wish to read about it some more go to http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=92365