Dear Emilio and others,
 
I am about as far removed from the town of Exmouth as you can get on the
Australian mainlaind, but I have seen and heard frequent reports of the
damage. Basically, when you take a direct hit from a category 5 cyclone
(the worst in a scale from 1 to 5, and they don't dish out 5 ratings very
often), you can count yourself lucky if you haven't lost anything (your
house, your pets, your livelyhood, your family members). This is SERIOUS
stuff. Such an event usually leaves a lasting impression on the community.
The northwest of Western Australia gets lots of nasty cyclones (this may be
one of the reasons so few people live there?). I would be quite surprised
if any of the fishing-related industry has come through undamaged. Exmouth
has some beautiful coral reef habitats. I'd hate to think what happened to
them. But then again, they will recover.
 
But you must also remember that the northwestern Australian coastline is so
incomprehensibly vast, that the nearest towns were quite undamaged - simply
because they are a few 100's km away! Many shells come not just from
Exmouth, but from the entire coastal strip, so I wouldn't be overly worried
about them becoming more scarce than usual.
 
Patty
WWW: http://www.capricornica.com
 
Capricornica Publications               on-line natural history bookshop
P.O. Box 345
Lindfield NSW 2070
 
phone/fax: 02 9415 8098 international: +61 2 9415 8098
 
E-mail: [log in to unmask]