‘Cyclone-hardened’ Queenslanders shelter in shipping containers as ‘bloody horrendous’ Narelle tears through

Roadhouse manager says storm has left buildings crushed, sheds down and ‘I don’t think there’s a leaf left on any tree’ How did global heating fuel Tropical Cyclone Narelle? Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast As the largest cyclone in a generation steamed towards her remote cattle station, Debbie Jackson, her husband, Kevin, their family, and a family friend took cover the best they could, in shipping containers. The seven stayed up all night in anticipation of the arrival of Tropical Cyclone Narelle. Boasting wind gusts up to 270km/h, the storm tore through Archer River, a tiny community about 650km north of Cairns, the most northerly city in Queensland, Australia. Witnesses say the winds tore trees from the ground, dumping them on to houses and sheds. But the Jacksons’ neighbour Debbie Cameron was equally concerned about rising flood waters spreading from the Archer River. She anticipated that her refuge, the Archer River roadhouse she manages, would flood. Cameron made a plan to escape to a nearby hill to take cover under a vehicle when the waters did rise, but even that was a race between the water rising and the wind dropping. “She’s deva