“…………..My friend next door had followed me into the remains of our house. Their house had been wiped out to the last row of bricks. She was desperate for something to wear. Anything ……….. even wet would do! She had made the mistake of going to bed in a skimpy, see-through nightie. Now she stood there – one arm over her breasts, and the other arm trying to conceal her crotch area. The wet nylon nightie was clinging everywhere. She may as well have been wearing nothing.
Their clothes were ‘gone with the wind’. Most people had lost all of their clothing except what they had been wearing. Her husband was standing in his very skimpy underpants as when he’d gone to bed. So we dressed him in my husband’s old shorts from the bottom of grandfather’s old sea chest, and her in my husband’s old football jersey which went down to her knees. She was happy! The rest of the warm dry clothes in the sea chest went into dressing the neighbourhood children………….”
This is a short extract from my book – the moral being – that when a cyclone is approaching and the winds are building up, you do not go to bed unless dressed in substantial clothing and footwear. You also keep, in a plastic bag and very close to you, a change of clothing for all those sheltering with you. The winds change from bad to horrific very quickly with each new gust, and you may suddenly find it is too dangerous for you to try to collect these things. Be prepared!
We were fortunate that the large extremely heavy sea chest did not budge during that cyclone, even though everything else was blown away. It stayed true to its purpose and was bone dry inside. In its journeys sailing around the world, it had probably encountered such severe weather many times. Even in the following stifling heat, we were so happy to have its contents of winter woollies, and ‘odds and ends’ of old but dry clothing, as we were all in shock and shiveringly cold.
Read more hard-earned tips in my book “Terror and Turmoil” available on Amazon’s Kindle, and hardcopy from me.
