Just emailed a friend of mine who lives there. She had one cell touch down about 2 miles from home and another about 1 mile from the office. They all hid in the internal hallway, 'designated safe room' and were hammered by heavy rain, hail and wind but all ok.
I spoke to a few who went through the small one at lennox head
a couple of years back aside the council workers doing a runner through it raining dead seagulls ,the thing one guy told me what really scared him was the debris landing after it passed , as it just kept on coming , he found a 8x 8 " beam inbedded verticly in his back yard
I couldn't imagine it raining down trucks. http://www.northernstar.com.au/photo...une-3-2010/#/9
Growing up on the North end of "Tornado Alley" (line from Oklahoma up thorugh Indiana), I have seen a large number of Tornadoes and can confirm that they are pretty spectacular.
I appreciate and respect their power and never take them lightly. If conditions are right the can be horribly destructive. We've lost barns, trees and had the occassional tree dropped on cars/trucks etc.
Having said that, they don't just appear out of thin air, atmospheric conditions must be met and if you pay reasonable attention to the conditions around you, you can safely get to shelter. Most homes and buildings have designated safe places (many of which are also tagged as fall out shelters). Most areas in tornado country have pretty good warning systems in place to let you know conditions are ripe for them and to take shelter. With the new doppler radar you can usually get a few minutes warning to find shelter which is a huge advance over the olden days.
While I don't find tornadoes particularly frightening (I understand how to stay safe) earthquakes and bush fires scare me no end...I guess it is what you get used to...
yeah Ok, cant be perfect. 
