Illawarra residents have lived to see another day, despite a saucy skyline driving many to suspect an apocalypse, volcanic eruption, or disaster requiring the services of a fictitious vampire slayer.Fairy Meadow postie Garry Hook was among those who considered the worst after waking to a day devoid of light, movement or sound yesterday. He set out for work on his pushbike, as the streetlights that normally guided the way remained eerily dark.
SLIDESHOW: Mercury photographers capture the dust storm YOUR PICTURES: Slideshow of Mercury readers' photos Dust storm: pollution 500 times the normal levelAs the sun rose, he saw for the first time the thick, scarlet haze that had all but obliterated the Illawarra sky."The sky really was bright orange and there wasn't any breeze," Mr Hook said."The guys at work were talking about it being like an episode of (television show) Buffy (the Vampire Slayer)."Mr Hook fashioned a facemask from an old Cancer Council bandanna to make his deliveries outside, noting the dust had even crept onto the Australia Post bikes kept inside a shed overnight.Wollongong cab driver Frank Clori's ride was also filthy, but it was too dark for him to see why when he collected it about 5am.He took it to the carwash, only noticing when the sun came up that his labour was for nothing."As I was cleaning the windscreen more dust was falling on it," he said. Meantime, en route to Sydney, Wollongong industrial abseiler Deon Kelly was enjoying a friendlier than usual train trip as usually distant commuters found common conversation ground in the brilliant hues on show outside."Normally everyone's asleep on the train, but not today," he said."I couldn't understand what it was in the dark. It actually looked like the moon was blue."Once the sun started coming up it was sort of like War of the Worlds."As the train carved a path north, Mt Warrigal mum Bianca Allard was waking at the urging of her work-bound partner. "He said, 'you have to see this'. The car was red, just red. It was raining dust," Ms Allard said."We have white tiles out the back and they were covered in red too."Too early for a dearth of weather experts and pundits to have explained the oddity, Ms Allard's imagination volunteered three possibilities: a volcanic eruption, meteor strike, or the end of the world. But not all were over-awed by nature's spectacle.From the counter of the Wollongong Bakery on Crown St, Raffaele Caruso was calm as he watched the colours creep in."Once every few years it happens," he said.
