00:00 Cleaning up after a severe thunderstorm.
00:06 It's something Attila Zachelli didn't think he would have to do after moving to Tasmania's
00:11 east coast from northern Queensland three years ago.
00:15 We moved out here to escape the tropics.
00:18 We're climate refugees and it's followed us, it's not fair.
00:23 His motel was completely flooded when an unusual, isolated storm hit St Helens and surrounding
00:29 areas yesterday.
00:30 We can't accommodate any of the guests that we've got for the foreseeable future.
00:34 My lounge, my bar, my kitchen, all of that's been taken out of operation at the moment
00:41 too.
00:42 Nearly 150mm of rain fell over the town.
00:47 Three homes suffered flood damage, displacing five people, and several businesses were also
00:54 damaged.
00:55 It wasn't just rain causing problems.
00:59 One lightning strike damaged the Marine Rescue Aerial Tower.
01:03 Absolutely fried every electronic bit of equipment that they've got here.
01:09 Everyone we've spoken to has described this event as being similar to a tropical thunderstorm.
01:15 At the oyster farm, this driveway became a river with almost a metre of water covering
01:20 it.
01:21 Like many in the community, these oyster farmers are still assessing the damage, but they believe
01:25 it will be significant.
01:26 It's closed our business down for operation, as in harvesting and producing stock for market
01:34 for the immediate term, probably up to two weeks, and maybe three.
01:40 Craig has owned the oyster farm since 1996 and says floods are becoming an increasing
01:47 problem.
01:48 Last year we were closed for 270 days out of 365, and that makes our business very,
01:57 very difficult.
01:59 The local council have spent around $3 million upgrading the stormwater systems over the
02:05 past decade.
02:07 But yesterday's downpour overwhelmed it.
02:10 We've done constant upgrades, as we always do, but when you have a storm of that magnitude,
02:16 the water, no matter how much the hole is, it'll fill up.
02:19 After enduring cyclones in north Queensland, Attila Zachelli says resilience is key to
02:25 getting through damaging weather events.
02:27 Just try to stay positive.
02:30 I've had big challenges in the past, and what I've found with all these sort of things,
02:35 you just work through them.
02:36 Keeping spirits high after the flood.
02:38 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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