Carinda community unites to recover from wild storm

ABC NEWS (Australia)

There are calls for the state government to issue a disaster declaration following wild storms in the state's north on Sunday.  Emergency crews have worked through the day to clean-up debris in Carinda, a remote town with a population under 200.

Transcript

00:00Sunday's storm has left much of Corinda in ruins.

00:06It was like an explosion.

00:07Next thing the wind, boom, in come my window and out went my veranda.

00:11Even so, Bill Tanner considers himself lucky.

00:14I was going to have a nanny nap.

00:16I decided against it. I was lucky, wasn't I?

00:18Because it went straight in onto my double bed.

00:20He's now sleeping in a bus provided by the town publican.

00:23Just one example of the community pitching in.

00:26It's run so smoothly.

00:28The shires dropped off, bunches of water, fuel, gloves,

00:33pretty much anything that we could need to clean up the town

00:36and get in and get it fixed.

00:39We've got 40 SES members on the ground today

00:41and they'll be assisting the community in responding to jobs.

00:44Those jobs include getting the power back on.

00:46New poles have been installed after some snapped in the wind.

00:49Asbestos is also being assessed given the age of the damaged buildings.

00:54If anyone is concerned, we can come around and have a look,

00:57deal with it and render it safe.

00:59The state opposition and local independent MP

01:02are calling for more government support

01:04and an official disaster declaration.

01:06The disaster declarations open up a range of different assistance

01:09that can be available from the federal government,

01:11so it's important that we can assess and quantify the damage that's occurred.

01:15While the immediate focus is on the cleanup,

01:18state and federal ministers say assessments are taking place

01:21to determine the level of support needed.

01:24Even though we are small, we have so much heart and spirit.

01:27With the power coming back on shortly before sunset,

01:30the town is now ready for the next stage of its recovery.

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