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Home / World

Jenny Clarke pleads for news of husband last heard from during Cyclone Debbie

news.com.au
29 Mar, 2017 08:02 AM3 mins to read

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Cyclone Debbie continues on today.

A woman is desperately seeking help to find her husband who she last spoke to during the peak of Cyclone Debbie when he called to say the roof was coming off their house.

Jenny Clarke said she spoke to David Clarke, 68, about 10am yesterday (local time) when he called her to say the roof had lifted off their house on Patullo Rd, Proserpine.

"He called me to say the roof had come off and the ceiling caved in, one of the side doors was blown off and he pushed something heavy against it.

"I'm so worried. I can't remember exactly but he said something like 'I'm not going to win this one'," she said.

Jenny Clarke is cut off from her home, where her husband David was sheltering from Debbie. Photo / Courier Mail
Jenny Clarke is cut off from her home, where her husband David was sheltering from Debbie. Photo / Courier Mail
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Jenny Clarke, who is in hospital at Townsville, said she contacted emergency services but they were unable to help because of the dangerous conditions.

"I called the police at about 10.30am but there was nothing they could do because of the lockdown so I have no idea what has happened," she said.

Clarke said her husband had a respiratory condition and she was "consumed with worry and guilt" about not being at home with him.

"I'm passed the point of worrying about whether he's injured because if he had been he would be dead by now," she said.

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Clarke said she would hire a car to drive to Proserpine tomorrow if she could but didn't know if the roads would be open.

"I'm just a pensioner so if I am going to hire a car, I need to know I would actually be able to use it."

She has been desperately posting in local community groups on Facebook searching for information about her husband.

"A neighbour of mine who lives down the road responded to my post but it's so dark and late now that she can't go check on the house until the morning," she told the Courier-Mail late on Tuesday night.

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David Clarke told his wife the roof had blown off their house in Patullo Rd. She hasn't heard from him since.
David Clarke told his wife the roof had blown off their house in Patullo Rd. She hasn't heard from him since.

Clarke said she and David moved to their "dream home" near Proserpine from Mt Isa about three years ago.

"The house is near new. We weren't even in the evacuation zone," she said.

Clarke said her husband would know she would be "very, very worried about him".

As Clarke's social media plea spread, many people tried to reach her house to see if David was okay.

David Clarke told his wife the roof had blown off their house in Patullo Rd. She hasn't heard from him since.
David Clarke told his wife the roof had blown off their house in Patullo Rd. She hasn't heard from him since.

Thomas Hinterdorfer from Higgins Storm Chasers said people from Proserpine tried to make the drive to the Clarke's house but floods and storm damage had prevented them from reaching it.

"I've got three people who could visit in the morning [today] but due to the power lines being down and damage they can't do it tonight as it would be too risky," he said.

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