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Whatever became of Gillian?

29/3/2014

 
PictureTC Gillian off WA
We waited and waited.  The thunder intimidated us and the light rain teased us, but nothing came.  Tropical cyclone Gillian kept moving northwards and lost its energy before it passed by Nhulunbuy.  It was Monday before we experienced some real wet season weather at Elcho.

The main thanksgiving event took place in calm
conditions with the briefest of showers, and we all remained outside under a largely blue sky.  It was probably the most settled thanksgiving weekend we have seen in eight years. The Yolngu seemed unperturbed by the cyclone predictions and enjoyed fellowship into the evenings.  With no planes to fly, we were able to take part and enjoy the exuberance and joy of the celebrations
. There were many testimonies of how Yolngu felt called to follow Jesus at a deeper level. 

Tropical cyclone Gillian made a third appearance to batter Christmas Island before rising to a category 2 system off the coast of Western Australia.  The search for the Malaysian Airlines aircraft was suspended for 24 hours as result and high winds continued to hamper the search for debris.

Getting cosy in the hangar

15/3/2014

 
Picture
Here are eight GA8 Airvans and a solitary C206 snuggled tightly into the MAF Hangar at Gove Airport.  The hangar, completed in 2009, is rated to withstand moderate cyclonic winds.
Can you find the C206?



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A waiting game

15/3/2014

 
Picture
After two days of planning the weather has changed from blue skies and light winds to a more ominous dark grey, with light rain and constant thunder in the background.  The spiral arms, reminiscent of those of a distant galaxy, are now starting to sweep over NE Arnhem Land bringing instability and rain.  The red and amber returns in the image above are associated with storm cells.

MAF brought all of its aircraft into Gove yesterday afternoon and left the families in the communities in accordance with our wishes.  We are now waiting for the strong winds and finalising our preparations.  We have gas stoves, water stored in readiness , torches and candles, and inverter backup from car batteries to try to keep fridges and freezers running if we lose power for an extended period.  The garden has been cleared of loose objects and we are restraining items at risk of turning over or becoming airborne.


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Thanksgiving Threat

13/3/2014

 
Picture
The middle of March has been the time for a Thankgiving Celebration weekend since a spiritual revival started on Elcho Island in 1979.  Ex-cyclone Gillian is forecast to pass over Nhulunbuy on Saturday afternoon and then Galiwin'ku on the Sunday morning.

MAF is making contingency plans to remove all the aircraft to the Gove hangar and possibly evacuate the families, too.  This will allow the aircraft to become part of any subsequent relief effort that may be required.

People are starting to arrive in Elcho today for the Thanksgiving and will add to the number of people at risk.  Thankfully this is only forecast to be a Category I cyclone with expected steady winds of 60mph and gusts to 90mph.

Please pray that there will be no loss of life and that the cyclone will track away from these two major population centres.  Nhulunbuy and Yirrkala communities house about 4,000 and 2,500 in Galiwin'ku.


    Journal Authors

    David and Jen Pett, MAF staff in since 2006, now in Cairns.

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