Cyclone clean-up a new kind of deployment

Tropical Cyclone Seroja made landfall on 11 April 2021 just south of the coastal town of Kalbarri in Western Australia, approximately 500km north of Perth. The Category 3 cyclone brought heavy rain and wind gusts of up to 170km/hr, damaging homes and buildings across an area of WA as large as the state of Victoria.

The worst of the damage was to the tourist town of Kalbarri, where many commercial and residential buildings completely lost roofs. The town lost power for more than a week, with kilometres of power lines being destroyed. Many properties were deemed unliveable and needed to be rebuilt.

In the weeks after TC Seroja hit, NSW RFS members were deployed on four occasions to WA to provide assistance. Captain Jody Preston of Wallacia Brigade was one of five NSW RFS members on the first deployment to WA from 13-17 April 2021 to assist communities affected by the cyclone. Here he shares his experiences.

The cyclone hit WA on Sunday 11 April 2021 and I received the message asking for interest in a deployment on Monday morning. By Monday afternoon my flight was booked for Tuesday morning, so it all happened very quickly.

Upon landing in Perth, we had a four-and-a-halfhour drive north to Geraldton, where we were to be based for our deployment. For the next two days we were tasked to the rural community of Mingenew, about 100km southeast of Geraldton, to assist with the clean-up.

Cyclone damage to the pub in the town of Northampton.

Photo by Jody Preston.

It was a very different deployment to the typical NSW RFS experience – there wasn’t a hose or a fire to be seen. TC Seroja had caused widespread damage, with the roofs ripped off houses and lying in pieces up the street. It was confronting to see the extent of the damage and realise this was all caused by only the wind.

Our tasks were to clear debris, make buildings safe and accessible and tarp roofs. Given the damage, we often had to improvise to get tarps in place. Many roofs couldn’t be easily accessed, so we had to work on the bare roof beams rather than the roof itself.

NSW RFS members tarping a roof in Mingenew.

Photo by Jody Preston.

There was also asbestos everywhere, which meant there were plenty of places we couldn’t work in. As NSW RFS members, we worked alongside members of the NSW and Victorian SES, Fire and Rescue NSW and the Australian Defence Force – it was a small but very diverse crew.

The locals we helped were taken aback when they learned how far we’d travelled to give them a hand. They hadn’t expected to see help so soon after the cyclone and were very grateful for our presence.

On the drive into Mingenew we noticed several dead trees painted blue, standing out in the rural landscape. Then at a property outside Mingenew we were assisting a family and noticed they too had a blue tree in their yard. After talking to the family, we discovered it was an initiative to bring awareness to mental illness in the area.

NSW RFS and NSW SES members working to repair damage in Mingenew.

Photo by Jody Preston.

The family was struggling as cyclone damage had ripped apart the house, they had no power and fuel for their generator was running low. Their nearest service station was two hours away, and there was a four-hour wait to get fuel.

As a crew we decided to help them out and borrowed their jerry can when we returned to Geraldton for the evening. Upon our return to Mingenew the next day, we returned the jerry can full of fuel. The family didn’t ask for it, we took it upon ourselves to help out. They were so appreciative and thankful – that kind of interaction is the reason why we volunteer.