It's been a bit exciting around here lately. Last Thursday a cold weather tornado - not to be confused with those we see from the US, these are much smaller in width although they are extremely destructive - tore through parts of Perth leaving unroofed houses, downed trees and other damage in its wake. Then a winter storm, the equivalent in intensity of a Category 2 Tropical Cyclone - cyclones are known as hurricanes or typhoons in other areas - hit the south west of the state including Perth on Sunday. More trees down, houses roofless, signs torn down and, just to add a little, power lines down leaving 170,000 homes without power and many will be without power for up to a week or more.
You'd think that would be enough, wouldn't you, but no. We're expecting another storm front of similar intensity this evening. So I've just been doing a check to make sure we have everything we need if the power goes out here - and, actually we have. With several oil or kerosene (that's paraffin for those who live in the UK, South East Asia and South Africa) lamps, including a Aladdin table lamp which gives a bright and clean light and must now be around 70-80 years old, and enough lamp oil to last for a week or so, ample supplies of candles and matches, a gas camping stove and a gas lamp, a gas boosted solar hot water system and gas heating for the house, all we lack is some kind of refrigeration and this time of year it doesn't matter all that much - although I would not be happy if we lost the contents of our large - and tightly packed - deep freeze.
Now all we have to hope is that the roof stays on. Fingers crossed.
2 comments:
You're far better prepared than I am!
That's because during the first ten years we lived here we had an average of six or seven power failures a year - something to do with the transformer up the street. It doesn't happen that often now but I keep the supplies up out of habit.
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