Most Whitsundays residents won't have access to 2 cyclone shelters

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The Queensland Government has announced that Category 5 Cyclone Shelters are to be built at Bowen and Proserpine State High Schools. There is no cyclone shelter planned for the 'Airlie Isle'.

The 15,000 or so residents & visitors of the coastal villages of Airlie Beach, Cannonvale, Jubilee Pocket and every other community east of the Bruce Highway (and the most exposed to cyclones) will miss out.

As everyone knows, the only road access between the coastal villages (and islands) and the rest of Australia is a 25km drive on Shute Harbour Road, and it is often cut due to flooding - even just after a couple of hours of heavy rain (there has even been a song written about it).

The coastal communities (Airlie Isle) have been 'cut off' from Proserpine & the rest of the mainland at least five times in the past year, and have experienced cyclones twice. The whole Whitsundays were isolated at one point for three days. See map of usual road closures.

There has been no announcement by the Queensland Government on flood proofing road access between Airlie Beach and the Cyclone shelters. 

So, two CAT5 shelters are to be built in the Whitsundays and most of the population will not have access to them.

But that's not the worse part of this story. Imagine its cyclone season 2013-4, it's been raining a few days and water is lying around, but the roads are open, as is the usual. However, above normal sea temperatures in the Coral Sea encourage a cyclone to form very quickly. It grows from a Cat2 to a Cat4 overnight but seems to be heading away. At lunch it turns towards Airlie Beach and is expected to hit that night.

Most people are out for the day thinking the cyclone is no threat. When they get home and watch the news they find out that it may hit in 6 hours. Thousands pack up & hit the 25km road to Proserpine, but then find the road has just been closed. A thousand vehicles with many thousands more occupants are now stuck in the canefields between Hamilton Plains & Brandy Creek with 200+km/hr winds bearing down on them.

Not a scenario I wish to happen, however, circumstances are that it more than likely could.

Footnote:
The Whitsundays are getting two cyclone shelters - one each in Bowen and Proserpine.
Whitsunday Regional Council's Administrative centres are based in Bowen and Proserpine.
State MP and Tourism Minister Jan Jarratt's headquarters in the Whitsundays is in Proserpine.