Three years of recovery from cyclone Seroja but the emotional damage of Mid West disaster remains

Three years on from one of the most devastating natural disasters to hit the Mid West, residents are ready to move on from cyclone Seroja and celebrate the unbreakable fabric of their community. On April 11, 2021 at 8pm the category three cyclone made landfall in Kalbarri before making its way to Northampton, Geraldton and to inland farming communities. It was the moment that changed many lives, destroying homes and businesses and leaving a damage bill in excess of $400 million, turning the region into something Rob Horstman described as “looking like a war zone”. Mr Horstman led the Cyclone Seroja Response Committee, a group formed to help residents and service groups navigate the recovery of the cyclone. The recovery is now focused on the emotional damage of the natural disaster. “There was the physical damage, the environmental damage and then there was the emotional damage . . . the emotional hangover is still there,” Mr Horstman said. “I know for some people like there were marriage break-ups . . . breakdowns in relationships because of the stress caused.” Northampton Shire president Liz Sudlow said the recovery was 90 per cent finished, but each person had their own story to tell. The most common story being insurance trouble, driving residents out of the town into greener pastures due to little or no payouts. “I think it was a devastating event and it’ll have an impact on many different people in different ways,” Ms Sudlow said. “For some it’s been life changing in one way or another, but they try to accept that the event has happened.” The State Government last month transferred a block of Kalbarri land to the Shire of Northampton for desperately needed workers accommodation after the initial proponent folded. Ms Sudlow said the Shire would begin the process of “working out how to move forward” soon. “It’s great news, at least we’ll be able to move forward with that particular site. Accommodation is still a huge issue in Kalbarri,” she said. Mr Horstman said one of the long-term side effects of the cyclone was the hike in insurance premiums. Kalbarri resident and business owner Kat Deadman said although it was disappointing to see the town’s infrastructure in ruins, it was time to move on from the devastation of the cyclone. “It’s three years now. We’re well and truly done and dusted with the cyclone and we just have to get on with it,” she said. “It’s frustrating that some things still haven’t been repaired, and there’s stuff in limbo, but what can you do about it? You’re just falling on deaf ears if you make a hoo-ha about it.” Ms Deadman said Chinaman’s Beach and Blue Holes were “still a mess”, and the beaches are still not wheelchair accessible. “We have quite a few people with wheelchairs that visit and they can’t even get anywhere down there like they used to be able to,” she said. Nicole Anderson opened the Shearing Shed Cafe in Northampton in 2016 and has been operating it for eight years. During the cyclone, the roof of the building lifted and twisted. For three weeks, the cafe was closed but as soon as Ms Anderson sourced generators — they were open for business. “We were operating for 18 months with a twisted roof. Rain coming in. We had buckets on the floor. It was while we were waiting for the insurance funds to come through,” she said. Once the roof was able to be fixed, they moved to another premises for eight weeks while it was being repaired. “We’re still waiting for some works to be done in the cafe. We’re waiting for flooring to be done, because of the water damage from operating with a broken roof,” Ms Anderson said. The cafe owner adds the adrenaline of opening back up was helped by a feeling of obligation, so community members had somewhere to go and distract themselves. Tourism operator Guy Acosta said the town was rebuilding three years on, with some fences only now being removed and tarps still on roofs, but the economy was back to normal. “Kalbarri looks a hell of a lot better, most of the tourists that visit, unless it is mentioned to them, they don’t even know what went down,” he said. “It’s starting to look good, we’re still short on that (workers) accommodation.” Although the town looked healed, Mr Acosta said there was still a lot of anxiety from locals when bad weather approached. “There was a bit of wind a couple of weeks ago and everyone was running around like chooks with their heads cut off, worried we were going to cop another cyclone. So it doesn’t take much,” he said. Kalbarri SES manager Steve Cable said most houses which were damaged in the cyclone have had repairs finished, but the psychological impact lingered. “It’s not just nuts and bolts infrastructure. A lot of people were quite traumatised by it,” he said. With hindsight on his side, Mr Cable said the response to the cyclone was exemplary. “I’ve been around a lot of it (emergency response) and it was just on the money,” he said.