The face smiles even when the heart sorrows to no end. Everyone has experienced this. Sometimes you can even see it in people around you. You feel for them but you can never reach out to console them, to give them encouraging words or to tell them that you can feel their sufferings. Because no matter how hard you try, you could never understand it… ever.
It is still fresh in my memory the sudden gush of adrenalin I felt as I read the alarming email about the possibility for cyclone Bianca to hit the Perth coastline. I live in Perth coastline. Just few kilo meters away from the nearest marina. Though I tried to calm myself down because I was after all in a meeting at that time, somehow my mind keep on wondering about what to do next? How should I react? What do I tell my family? My heart ached as I think about how safe and how so much happier I am going to be if I am in Malaysia right now. Like an egg in a basket. Cosy, comfy and most importantly; safe.
But I was and still is in Perth, and there is no running away from this harsh reality. I have to admit, it was one of the most difficult times to concentrate on work. Very very difficult. As I head home, I shared the terrifying news with my hubby and we immediately started packing. It was a Friday night where I am generally very lethargic from the week’s worth of research & writing. But I forced myself to pack nonetheless. In our hearts, we kept on praying to God to spare us from the menacing Bianca, to let us survive this force of nature so that we could continue to contribute to the path of Islam.
For 24 hours we were hooked to Bureau of Meteorology website to track the cyclone. Every time I looked at the track map, I could feel a strange jolt in my stomach. A sickening feeling. This force of nature, it was nothing a lowly mortal like us could do anything about. I couldn’t even handle the thoughts of it let alone the actual thing. Those were the moments that I felt most insignificant, most helpless and most humbled to my deepest core. No I didn’t cry. I didn’t even flipped out. I just did what I needed to do in preparation for the worst. The only thing certain at that time was that all we have are only prayers. But luckily, the cyclone died off as it reached our shore. All we felt were some breezes and a bit of shower.
I still have my emergency kits unpacked in the living room. I decided that it might be smart to keep them there as is, just in case. Every time I looked at them, they remind me of the longest weekend I ever had. They remind me of my own insignificance, of my own mortality. And that helps to put my entire existence into a better perspective. From this incident, I really learnt that everything in life means nothing… nothing compared to how much my life had been blessed all these while. I can’t even begin to explain the gratitude I feel to Allah for saving us. For letting us live and be his servants. A very loyal one from now on, InsyaAllah.
As cyclone Yasi approached North Queensland coast just over 24 hours ago, all the memories of that scary weekend came rushing back, vividly. I could really feel for them. We didn’t sleep, watching ABC news 24 the entire time. Desperate to know the outcome of Yasi, desperate to know how the North Queenslanders were doing, how they were holding on. The realization that there was nothing we could do other than pray was devastating... but that was really all that we could do. I was freaking out at the thought of a category 1 cyclone. I couldn’t even begin to imagine their fear for the impending category 5 cyclone last night. Allah, please let everyone be saved. please, please, please.
Here are some of the images I collected from the internet on Cyclone Yasi. It’s too bad, really… These people had just begun to built their lives from the rubble of Cyclone Larry not more than 5 years ago, now, they had to face the worst cyclone in the history of Australia. Really, their faces smile even when their heart sorrows to no end. And who am I to say that I could understand their feelings? I could not and never will be. For their devastation are far beyond someone like me could ever imagined. Allah, show them your love, please.. My heart goes to them always.
Cyclone Yasi, with it’s eye on Cairnes, But Tully is the city that suffered the most, I heard.
Taken from Bureau of Meteorology website: category 5 cyclone Yasi with very destructive winds approaching areas between Innisfail and Ingham.
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