Cyclone Seroja two years on: Kalbarri local Kat Deadman on picking up the pieces in emotional rebuild

STANDFIRST: Kalbarri boat hire and coffee van business owner Kat Deadman — who organised writing messages in the beach sand including “We Will Rebuild” in the days after the disaster — writes about the aftermath of Seroja two years on.

For many, the Easter long weekend is a joyous time to celebrate with family and friends. For our business in Kalbarri, it is now a pertinent reminder of the most devastating natural disaster we have experienced.

For Kalbarri, the Easter holidays were the tourism industries busiest time of year. The loss we estimated from the closure that weekend alone was more than $50,000. From the seven weeks during the recovery, and the damage, our loss would be in excess of $200,000.

We have tried not to pay attention to the financial loss, but it has been exceptionally difficult to watch people not understand that Kalbarri is up and running again, and continues to lose income. We want people to know the town is ready to host them. We want people to see how much the town has to offer, and not be an afterthought. If people were to stay an extra night or two during their stopovers on longer drives up north, it would make such a difference to local business.

There have been positive turns in the journey, and important lessons learned through the hardship. With the help of the $20,000 government grant we received, we were able to put in cyclonic roller shutters. The rebuild meant that our power was reinstalled and functions better than it did before.

The recovery has been hard but we are able to look on the bright side. We are better educated and prepared. As a community, we are closer, stronger and more resilient than ever.