Cyclone Seroja: West Australians dig deep for Seroja survivors

The outpouring of support in response to ex-Tropical Cyclone Seroja has been immense, with almost $3 million already raised for survivors of the catastrophic storm since the Lord Mayor’s Distress Relief Fund was activated. But as donations continue to pour in for those whose homes and livelihoods were obliterated by the category three cyclone on Sunday night, it’s the huge and co-ordinated effort from a team of emergency service and response personnel – and their enduring work in affected areas like Kalbarri, Northampton, Morawa, Perenjori and Mingenew – that has gone largely unacknowledged until now. A total of 500 emergency services personnel from across WA, including State Emergency Services volunteers and Department of Fire and Emergency Services staff have been deployed to the massive impact zone since Seroja lashed the Mid West. Of those, 43 flew into Geraldton from interstate aboard the Australian Defence. That group consists of SES volunteers from Victoria and Fire and Rescue and Rural Fire Service personnel from New South Wales. A further five support staff from South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales were deployed to the State Operations Centre in Perth. Tonight, those based out of Geraldton will all be replaced by a fresh response team. At least 22 of that unit will deployed from New South Wales, with the remainder coming in from South Australia. The five based in Perth will also be switched out by a new group of five support staff from Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia. It is expected that on Sunday an additional 22 personnel from Victoria will fly in to Geraldton on the Hercules C-130. Additional emergency vehicles may also be provided by the eastern states over the weekend. Assisting DFES is the ADF, which deployed 60 soldiers, logistics and support personnel to the ravaged region on Wednesday. Most of the Seroja response unit consists of Army Reservists from the 13th Brigade and the Pilbara Regiment who volunteered their time to help with clean-up and recovery efforts in hard-hit communities like the coastal tourist town of Kalbarri, 570km north of Perth, and Northampton. There are a small number of full-time soldiers part of that contingent as well. The unit set up a temporary camp for 100 DFES personnel in Geraldton on Wednesday morning and have been operating out of the city since. Also arriving with the soldiers were 30 Army vehicles, including heavy lifting equipment, which are now based in Kalbarri and Northampton, where clean up efforts at local schools and community centres have been under way for several days. St John Ambulance established a dedicated incident management team following Seroja’s wrath. As well as preparing crews, facilities and vehicles already on the ground in the Mid West, Gascoyne and Wheatbelt regions ahead of the cyclone’s arrival, St John provided a swathe of extra resources for the duration of the emergency period. These include a troop carrier, an ambulance, a liaison officer to be based at the DFES operations centre, ambulances from York and Gingin, a multi-patient vehicle with two staff, a Shark Bay community paramedic, another community paramedic, two Carnarvon volunteers and a further two paramedics who were sent to the Incident Control point. Throughout the week, extra paramedics have also been provided on request, and support has also been provided by a regional manager. To meet demand, volunteers were placed on seven-day rosters to support local crews, and the Kalbarri sub-centre provided temporary shelter for a number of families as well. St John WA also assisted in the transfer of a number of patients in preparation for the cyclone to hit, and crews – some of whom have been personally impacted by ex-Tropical Cyclone Seroja – have continued to assist in the damage assessment and repair process. A number of wellbeing and support representatives from St John WA are also expected to arrive in Kalbarri on Monday, as locals come to grips with the devastation and loss left in Seroja’s wake. Department of Communities staff and volunteers have been out in force since the cyclone hit as well, setting up multiple evacuation centres as well as providing crucial financial support and mental health resources. On top if that, it is understood at least 50 extra police officers were brought into the affected region this week, to support emergency service teams and keep looters at bay. The long list of staff and volunteers fails to include the many others who have put their hands up to assist those whose lives were this week turned to rubble. Apart from Health Department and Parks and Wildlife staff, there’s also asbestos specialists, media crews and dozens of individuals who tried to be there for their fellow West Australians since waking up from Sunday’s nightmare.