Queensland farmers prepare for category four cyclone
The system is about 375 kilometres off Townsville and is due to intensify into a category four system and cross the coast just south of Ayr about 7:00am on Tuesday. The storm has many worried, as Bowen produces around $450 million a year, producing a wide variety of fruit and vegetables, ranging from mangoes and bananas to sweet corn.
Growcom chief advocate Rachel Mackenzie said there were a number of simple things farmers could do to make sure they kept themselves safe and to minimise the impacts of strong winds and heavy rain to farmland.
"Simple things like shutting off electricity in areas exposed to flooding or storm damage, moving equipment or vehicles to higher ground, moving your pumps, securing fuel, chemicals and fertilisers," Ms Mackenzie said.
"We have had a few examples where people have not had electricity for two weeks, so if you've got a generator it's only as good as the fuel that you have for it," she said.
As well as preparing the farm, Ms Mackenzie said it was also important for farmers to have their paper work in order and stored safely should they need to make any future insurance claims.
"Take some before photographs of your property so that if there is significant damage and you have got grounds to make either an insurance claim or it can be used for us to help lobby for government assistance ... you can then take some after photos," she said.
Debbie is currently expected to make landfall as a Category 4 cyclone somewhere between Bowen and Ayr on Tuesday morning, putting the agriculture industry at risk.
source: news.com.au, abc.net.au
