I have heard from my rellies in Kurrimine, and Babinda. The ones in Kurrimine were evacuated before the storm hit, spent the night in a shopping mall with the rest of the town, they are all OK. The roads were still impassable last I heard but they have been told their house and shed are fine.
The folks in Babinda spent the night at home and are fine as well.
Both had their homes destroyed in Cyclone Larry in '06.
Like everyone else, when they rebuilt, they rebuilt to Cyclone resistant standards.
They are crediting that with the fact that this storm didn't wreak near as much havoc as Larry or as much as it was predicted it would do.
Thanks for the offer, Rob. The Kurrimine folks are on Facebook when they can get to a computer. The Babinda folks are on when they have power. No phones yet, that may take a while...the cell towers that survived are without power as well and go out when the batteries die.
All in all, I think the preparation was top notch and saved many lives and lots of property. The crops are another story, though. You have to feel for the farmers in a bad weather event anywhere in the world...they really suffer.
Relatives Babinda Back Yard Before
and after (note the hill in the background)