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Mar 2, Kanagawa: NR, are you still there?

Mar 5, Kanagawa: Still no word from NR. Last time on FH was 2/26 or 27, so a week. Floods in NR were widespread with rainfall approaching 1000mm in 24 hours, which is phenomenal. Meanwhile, things are slowly warming up in Kanagawa. Today is the warmest we've had so far this year with a high of 17 or so, but very windy. The corner has been turned. Trees are budding. The sun has fully risen by the time I get to work, usually around 6:15.

Mar 8 NR: Posted by Kanagawa on behalf of NR who was unable to post:

Reporting from the thick of it! This, Day 9, post event, is the first Day that i can get on the internet - but it's 3G - unstable - there's no info as to when it will return. There's been a lot of damage in the region. 20 lives lost, 20-30 000 homes flooded - thousands of homes destroyed. Records smashed. My house got through, by a whisker, i was lucky, a lot of damage to the farm's fences. There's community spirit but part of that spirit includes a simmering anger towards authorities and a sense the region was "abandoned" - that it was left to a DIY rescue service - with no communication. There are issues about how the experts prepared, then responded, as well as the performance of the biggest Communication carrier (Telstra) in a crisis. The media, of course, has behaved in its usual way. Looking forward to providing details on the nature of the storm, and exploring the above issues - if we ever get the internet back on. URL of the posting: http://formosahut.com/forum/index.php?id=3447

Mar 14, Kanagawa: It was 16 at 5:30AM. First day I left the house without a coat. Overcast, rain, supposed to be sunny later with high of 18.

Mar 21, Kanagawa: The past week has been unstable with some rain, highs in the low to mid teens with a couple days edging higher. Overall on the cool side. 7C at 5:00AM, high today forecast at 12-14 with sun. Plum trees have been blooming for a couple weeks.

Mar 22, Kanagawa: Cold, rainy, wet weather. Strong cold front going through. It was 7C at 5AM and that's the warmest it will get all day, with 90% chance of rain. Low tonight at 4. That means it will possibly snow in the nearby hills. Not normal.

Mar 25, Kanagawa: A little nicer today with highs in the high teens, low wind, all in all a pleasant day.

Mar 31, NR: Thanks Kanagawa for posting the updates! There was another deluge exactly a month later (Mar 28)- same deal, an East Coast Low, formed around Brisbane, moved south drenching Gold Coast, and NR, then it looked like it was continuing south but looped back north and hit us again the next night - with no warning. 450mm in Lismore overnight which caused renewed flooding. Flood peak for Wilson's river was 11.4, which would have been a new record if it wasn't for the flood a month ago, which reached 14m. Old rec was 11m from 1954. Second flood, included a repeat of the bungled response from the first one (covered in detail in thread). In other news: wild tomatoes ripened during first storm. Left some fruit on for another week but seems optimal to harvest slightly early for a sweeter flavour - but excellent quality generally. Buff-breasted rails galore - they love the big rain. Although timid, humans don't seem to be one of things they're especially scared of - often coming within a few metres of me without alarm. They must see the big rain as a 'predator free' space coz they don't come out so openly in normal times. Also saw a peregrine falcon. Thought i may have seen one before but got a good look this time. It was harassing a wedge-tailed eagle perched in the dead gum tree near pecan plantation. There are a lot of wild pigeons here so plenty of potential food for a peregrine.