Strike One - Saturday 17 November 2012
Our roof was hit by lightning during a fierce storm. We were not at home, but our neighbours said they had never heard a louder noise. They thought a bomb must have gone off.
Current running through electricity cables, phone cables, and network cables killed our big TV, Tivo video recorder, BluRay player, answering machine, phones, internet router, iMac computer, laser printer, and RF powerpoint remote controllers. About 100 movies/TV shows on an external Tivo hard drive were lost, as was the external drive itself. Phone and network cables were damaged.
Current running through electricity cables, phone cables, and network cables killed our big TV, Tivo video recorder, BluRay player, answering machine, phones, internet router, iMac computer, laser printer, and RF powerpoint remote controllers. About 100 movies/TV shows on an external Tivo hard drive were lost, as was the external drive itself. Phone and network cables were damaged.
Strike Two - Sunday 18 November 2012
A State Emergency Service team were up on the roof inspecting the damage the next day when a new storm cell appeared - dark, ominous, sudden. The team came down, threw their gear into their truck and raced off.
As they were driving away they heard a tremendous bang, and remarked "Someone close got that one!"
Daughter Kirsten, who lives a few km away in the direction the storm was coming from, rang to say they were getting hailstones the size of cricket balls.
Here's 37 seconds of the hail hitting her swimming pool, taken by husband Dion:
As they were driving away they heard a tremendous bang, and remarked "Someone close got that one!"
Daughter Kirsten, who lives a few km away in the direction the storm was coming from, rang to say they were getting hailstones the size of cricket balls.
Here's 37 seconds of the hail hitting her swimming pool, taken by husband Dion:
and here's a few seconds looking at the bark stripped off her trees by hail, alongside a kids cricket ball:
Fierce storms often mean power outages, so I made Wendy and I some coffee.
I took my coffee to the lounge. Looking through the window I saw a few hail stones the size of large marbles.
I called to Wendy to come quickly to see the hail.
I was standing by her lounge chair.
The next few seconds are unclear in my mind. Shocked by the blast, I struggled to make sense of it.
First thought - a mighty hail stone had come through the roof.
Gradually I saw an almost complete roof tile in the chair beside me.
Looking up, I saw something like a rough wooden fence post very close to my head, then a large hole nearby, with water pouring in.
Looking around the lounge I saw two other poles through the lounge ceiling, and a larger one outside the door on the veranda.
Water was pouring into the lounge from the three poles, and through the three light fittings.
I took my coffee to the lounge. Looking through the window I saw a few hail stones the size of large marbles.
I called to Wendy to come quickly to see the hail.
I was standing by her lounge chair.
The next few seconds are unclear in my mind. Shocked by the blast, I struggled to make sense of it.
First thought - a mighty hail stone had come through the roof.
Gradually I saw an almost complete roof tile in the chair beside me.
Looking up, I saw something like a rough wooden fence post very close to my head, then a large hole nearby, with water pouring in.
Looking around the lounge I saw two other poles through the lounge ceiling, and a larger one outside the door on the veranda.
Water was pouring into the lounge from the three poles, and through the three light fittings.
About a dozen neighbours were in with us within about 30 seconds. From them I learned that a mighty spotted gum tree we had in our back yard had been hit by lightning and exploded.
Limbs were thrown everywhere.
One travelled 40 metres past our house to knock over our front gate:
Limbs were thrown everywhere.
One travelled 40 metres past our house to knock over our front gate:
But the bulk of the tree had been blasted into our roof:
Soon after our neighbours (who were using brooms,etc to sweep the bulk of the incoming water down the stairs) came the fire brigade, the electricity company, and in good time, the State Emergency Service, and the Make Safe team of the insurance company.
The tree was too hazardous for the State Emergency Service (same team as the day before) to remove.
The next day the Make Safe team secured the trunk of the tree with guy ropes so it would not come down.
The day after they trimmed all the large limbs, and were able to put tarpaulins in place.
The day after that the bulk of the trunk was 'nibbled' at with power saws and removed in smaller pieces.
The next, final, tree day the trunk was cut up and removed.
The tree was too hazardous for the State Emergency Service (same team as the day before) to remove.
The next day the Make Safe team secured the trunk of the tree with guy ropes so it would not come down.
The day after they trimmed all the large limbs, and were able to put tarpaulins in place.
The day after that the bulk of the trunk was 'nibbled' at with power saws and removed in smaller pieces.
The next, final, tree day the trunk was cut up and removed.
And here's the stump to give you an idea of the size. (That's a full size bucket from Bunnies.)
The damage from the second lightning strike:
Daughter Kirsten is getting 50 tiles replaced on her house roof, all her lead flashing, and the whole garage roof. One car was in the garage and is undamaged, but the other has been written off.
Daughter Lisa, whose home is midway between the two damaged homes, suffered no significant damage to her home.
Both homes have Suncorp insurance, and the company are being very helpful, and will replace all equipment and furniture, and pay for building repairs. We get new equipment directly from supliers, pre-paid by Suncorp, We get a pre-paid Visa card to purchase the new furniture. Only one problem - Suncorp lost track of a key document for our claim for a while, so progress on replacement has been delayed.
We are very thankful that no one was hurt at all, and that family, friends and neighbours were so kind.
- Because the veranda ceiling was made of asbestos cement, and fibres were carried by the water into the lounge, the Asbestos Make Safe team wrapped cling film around, and took away for disposal, our high end overlarge three-piece recliner lounge and an antique Swedish-style spoon back carved bentwood empire chair.
- A Queen Anne piecrust rosewood wine table and a fine Queen Anne nest of tables were damaged by falling tiles.
- Our TV unit was water damaged. (Parts I had imagined were solid wood were, in fact, cunningly disguised particle board.)
- Our stairwell balustrading and one of our stairs took minor hits.
- A large woollen rug in the lounge, and a long woollen runner rug in the hallway were ruined.
- Our china cabinet only sustained miniscule damage on top, and no one usually sees the top. All the contents are fine.
- Two of the antique china plates on the pelmet over the sliding door crashed 2 metres to the wooden floor with no damage.
- Only my leather chair and over-chair desk were left intact in the lounge. Surprisingly, an electric clock and our Apple TV survived both storms.
- About one third of our roof will need to be replaced. The lounge ceiling will need to be replaced.
- The walls of the lounge, upstairs bathroom, and my office downstairs were water damaged and will need to be repainted.
- The polished floors through the house will need to be sanded and coated again.
Daughter Kirsten is getting 50 tiles replaced on her house roof, all her lead flashing, and the whole garage roof. One car was in the garage and is undamaged, but the other has been written off.
Daughter Lisa, whose home is midway between the two damaged homes, suffered no significant damage to her home.
Both homes have Suncorp insurance, and the company are being very helpful, and will replace all equipment and furniture, and pay for building repairs. We get new equipment directly from supliers, pre-paid by Suncorp, We get a pre-paid Visa card to purchase the new furniture. Only one problem - Suncorp lost track of a key document for our claim for a while, so progress on replacement has been delayed.
We are very thankful that no one was hurt at all, and that family, friends and neighbours were so kind.
Postscript - Cyclone Oswald wanders south
The builders turned up on the Friday before the Australia Day weekend and assembled the scaffolding in preparation for work to start after the holiday. We also took delivery of our first replacement chair - a lift chair for Wendy.
Wendy and I left for a Celtic Thunder concert at the Gold Coast on the Sunday. With cyclone Oswald expected to wander south losing intensity, we took an overnight bag just in case.
Cyclone Oswald did wander south, and did lose intensity, but not enough. Though the Bureau of Meteorology changed his name to "Ex-cyclone Oswald", he was powerful enough to rip the tarpaulins from our roof and dump enormous quantities of water into our house.
We had put in temporary ceiling patches (thanks Nev) to keep the possums (that squeezed under the tarps and took up residence) from knocking down bits of broken tile and tree debris through the holes made by the tree limbs. The one over Wendy's new chair was the one that gave way, wrecking the chair, the floors upstairs, and the carpet, my desk, books, and other stuff downstairs.
Tide marks showed that the water only got 2cm high upstairs, but at least 5cm downstairs.
We spent 2 more nights in exile at the Gold Coast, then moved into exile at the Oasis apartments (on Coronation Drive, opposite the Wesley Hospital. We were there for a fortnight as the cycle started again - powerline safety team, physical safety team, electrical safety team, asbestos safety team, and so on. This time we were competing for resources with many others damaged by Oswald.
When I say "we", Wendy went over the road to the Wesley Hospital for an operation and overnight stay, developed pneumonia, and was in for 10 days. I joined her for a day-surgery procedure one of the days.
The insurance company let the roof be retiled, but restoration of the house had to await the full assessment, agreeing new contract, allocating builders, etc, again competing for resources with many others damaged by Oswald.
Half the house needs new ceilings, upstairs the polished wood floors need to be redone, downstairs the carpet needs to be replaced, and quite a few rooms need to be repainted. Only the upstairs toilet and the downstairs bathroom need no work at all.
Wendy and I left for a Celtic Thunder concert at the Gold Coast on the Sunday. With cyclone Oswald expected to wander south losing intensity, we took an overnight bag just in case.
Cyclone Oswald did wander south, and did lose intensity, but not enough. Though the Bureau of Meteorology changed his name to "Ex-cyclone Oswald", he was powerful enough to rip the tarpaulins from our roof and dump enormous quantities of water into our house.
We had put in temporary ceiling patches (thanks Nev) to keep the possums (that squeezed under the tarps and took up residence) from knocking down bits of broken tile and tree debris through the holes made by the tree limbs. The one over Wendy's new chair was the one that gave way, wrecking the chair, the floors upstairs, and the carpet, my desk, books, and other stuff downstairs.
Tide marks showed that the water only got 2cm high upstairs, but at least 5cm downstairs.
We spent 2 more nights in exile at the Gold Coast, then moved into exile at the Oasis apartments (on Coronation Drive, opposite the Wesley Hospital. We were there for a fortnight as the cycle started again - powerline safety team, physical safety team, electrical safety team, asbestos safety team, and so on. This time we were competing for resources with many others damaged by Oswald.
When I say "we", Wendy went over the road to the Wesley Hospital for an operation and overnight stay, developed pneumonia, and was in for 10 days. I joined her for a day-surgery procedure one of the days.
The insurance company let the roof be retiled, but restoration of the house had to await the full assessment, agreeing new contract, allocating builders, etc, again competing for resources with many others damaged by Oswald.
Half the house needs new ceilings, upstairs the polished wood floors need to be redone, downstairs the carpet needs to be replaced, and quite a few rooms need to be repainted. Only the upstairs toilet and the downstairs bathroom need no work at all.
Postscript 2: Results
We spent a total of 7 months in exile while the home was repaired.
Half the house got a new roof and new ceilings.
Some walls were replaced or replastered. We elected not to replace a damaged wall between the dining room and the lounge.
The whole house was repainted inside. Wooden floors were resanded and repolished. New carpeting was laid downstairs. Old style lighting was replaced with modern LED down lights. Most electrical and phone equipment is new.
The house now looks brighter and lighter and brand new inside.
Postscript 3: 2014 year end lightning strike
Around 2pm on 30 December 2014 a lightning strike in our back yard killed our electronic equipment again (and gave us a great fright!)
Once again, our phones, my iMac computer, our video recorder, modem, network cables, printer etc were wiped out. The Apple TV that survived the first two lightning strikes and cyclone Oswald also copped it this time.
Suncorp will once again come to the party. However, it all takes time and energy - testing to find what is broken, getting the damage certified by a technician, getting quotes, getting Suncorp approval, ordering, arranging delivery, installation and restoring backup or entering settings.
Apple turned up yesterday with new iMac innards and installed them inside the existing case, so that doesn't need to await insurance. After a long restoring and indexing process I have access to my information today.
Myer delivered phones yesterday also, and I took my first call shortly afterwards from a member keen to discuss the SAM that Dr Mark Moyad spoke of. Reprogramming the address book awaits another day.
All else is still in process.
In our first 42 years in this house we had one lightning strike hit a tree causing us no damage. Now we have had three strikes in two years (and ex-cyclone Oswald as a bonus).
To answer a couple of common questions:
Once again, our phones, my iMac computer, our video recorder, modem, network cables, printer etc were wiped out. The Apple TV that survived the first two lightning strikes and cyclone Oswald also copped it this time.
Suncorp will once again come to the party. However, it all takes time and energy - testing to find what is broken, getting the damage certified by a technician, getting quotes, getting Suncorp approval, ordering, arranging delivery, installation and restoring backup or entering settings.
Apple turned up yesterday with new iMac innards and installed them inside the existing case, so that doesn't need to await insurance. After a long restoring and indexing process I have access to my information today.
Myer delivered phones yesterday also, and I took my first call shortly afterwards from a member keen to discuss the SAM that Dr Mark Moyad spoke of. Reprogramming the address book awaits another day.
All else is still in process.
In our first 42 years in this house we had one lightning strike hit a tree causing us no damage. Now we have had three strikes in two years (and ex-cyclone Oswald as a bonus).
To answer a couple of common questions:
- an electric charge that travels hundreds of metres through the air is not in the least hindered by whatever it meets in a surge protector; and
- our personal circumstances will necessitate our downsizing soon, but we will not be moving because of the storms.