Falling like the leaves in autumn

Wednesday, March 24, 2010
6:34 AM

Wed, 24 Mar 2010

i've survived perth's worst weather in a very long time, the day which residents call 'The Great Storm of Perth". I remember i was working that very fateful day - Monday 22nd March. I was working inside the store when all hell broke loose. it started raining and it got heavier by the minute. From the window, we could see the wind blowing very strongly and trees swaying scarily. Everyone was shouting in the store. The broiler which we cook our beef and chicken products in was temporaily down due to the bad weather (the thunderstorm could have caused the shut-down) and we were starting to get more orders. The manager on duty quickly tried to get it back on, which it did eventually.. and thank goodness it was about time for me to get off my shift. cos' i heard it got really busy after i left.

Throughout perth, many homes and businesses blacked out. including the big shopping centre carousel. i heard everyone was forced to evacuate. Inside Hungry Jack's, i was tinking to myself, how am i going to get home in this storm? the weather was atrocious. wind and rain blowing in all directions and it looks like it could sweep u off ur feet. alas! my mum came and fetch me. i must be one lucky gal.. but the rain was waiting for us outside. my mum had her car parked outside the entrance of the store. it was just a short dash to the car but somehow we found it diffficult to cross. we had to count to 3 and sprinted to the car. just that short distance had us all drenched from head to toe. and i had to hav a cold that week - cough. luckily my mum came to fetch me, otherwise i tink my illness will just get worse.

The way home was nerve-wrecking. things were flying everywhere. and a tree broke down on the road to the entrance of HJ's drive-though lane. we had to squeeze through the tiny little path and risked having the branches scratch our car. we drove slowly and cautiously. ALL the traffic lights were down. We usually take only 15 minutes from my workplace to home but that day, we took 1 hour.

At that time, it was the rush hour (5 plus PM) and there were traffic jams. No one was around to direct the traffic becos the weather was just too bad. everyone just had to give way. but even then, our line was hardly moving. along the way, trees were uprooted, even big ones that blocked an entire lane. a traffic light was bent and out of order. we were so worried we'd get into an accident. due to the heavy rains, there were floods on every road. lightning streaked across the sky frequently. i was so afraid it may come down straight at us.

amanda sms mum to ask if she could fetch her 6.30pm from uni becos she didnt feel like going for the lecture as she was wet and cold (she had to walk thru floods up to half the knee) on our right hand side, we saw a car out of order becos water went into its exhaust which caused its engine to fail. so they had to call a toll truck to come and move their car away. at that area, we saw people walking in floods of up to knee length high! it was so deep that we couldnt even see the car's wheels.. sharon then sms to say that our house blacked out and she was scared. when we finally reached home, we cldnt even open our garage becos there was no electricity. there was gas but no spark so we had to use matchsticks to start a fire to cook dinner. our fridge and freezer were not working and we were worried the food may go bad. It was reported that hail ice fell that day and the wind speed was 120km/hr!

so throughout the night, we didnt have electricity and internet. we had to eat and bathe with candles. and turned on the battery operated radio to listen for any updates. this lasted the entire night. till 8 plus AM the next day.

I had to work the next day and i saw the wreckage that was done throughout the different suburbs. alot of trees were scattered everywhere and the traffic lights were STILL not working. terrible experience - this must be the worst weather i've experienced in perth and its not EVEN winter yet! it was hell busy at Hungry Jack's the next day - becos some pple hav yet to hav their electricity restored. the big boss and restaurant manager had to come down to help with the unusually big amt of orders. all in all, it was a bad day.. really bad.

There were news of the freak weather on tv - mud slides in some areas which destroyed many homes. hail stones crashing down on car windows and screens, hence makin a dent in it. some schools had to closed down cos' it incurred some damages due to the flood. i'm just thankful that we're safe..