CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | CONTACT
It appears a large wall of water and wind is sitting stationary at the Townsville waterfront, as North Queensland Cowboys captain Johnathan Thurston slowly makes his way towards the end of The Strand.
With the entire city in lockdown, SES personnel says they feared the worst for the Northern Capital, as howling winds make their way onto mainland Queensland.
As of half an hour ago, Cyclone Debbie remained a category four storm, sitting about 35km north-west of Hamilton Island and 65km east of Bowen. It’s moving at a very slow 9km/h.
At the centre of the cyclone the BoM has recorded sustained winds of 185km/h with gusts to 260km/h.
However, Townsville appears to be safe from this imminent natural disaster, for now.
With his left hand outstretched in front him, facing the wild weather, the rugby league great has created a calm across the Townsville foreshore, with the cyclone appearing to have reached some sort of a divine barrier.
Local witness, Darcy (58) said he thought the town was deadset rooted, until he saw the number 7 for the North Queensland Cowboys trotting onto the wooden boardwalks.
“He just started to slowly walk down the pier. It looked like he was a goner”
“All of a sudden he put his hand out, as if to say stop, and the wild weather stood still. In a ball of rotating energy, it just froze”
“It was like Moses”
Droves of townsfolk currently huddled up in the nearby Seaview Hotel are now heard to be chanting “King Of The North! King Of The North” non-stop, as they cheer on their humble saviour.
Experts from the Bureau Of Meteorology say it will be interesting to see if Thurston can continue to keep Debbie from forcing her way into his city, as weather reports predict the storm will continue in the region for days to come.
The North Queensland Cowboys now have training staff running drinks to the future immortal, as the town worries he might get tired holding back the category 4 cyclone by himself.
