Lived Experience Forum

[HenryX]

@Shaz51 @Former-Member @Smc @MDT @Appleblossom  @Darcy @Determined @Daisydreamer  @Emelia8  @Madge78 

Re-Post

To Everyone

Thank you all forum members, for the encouragement, good wishes and reassurance during and following this recent cyclone event in Western Australia. It certainly has been an (unwelcome) experience. However, as I have said in other posts, it truly is amazing to see what can be accomplished when people have a purpose and goal. The support and camaraderie extended by people to each other are fantastic to see. Those sentiments do not apply just in my immediate environment but from as distant and far away as people are from one another on this forum. For me to have people, whom I know only by their written word, a pseudonym and avatar, providing encouragement and moral support, has been very sustaining during a difficult time. That is demonstrated by the fact that I look forward to returning to the messages posted and the engagement available to me through the forum.

It is also surprising that, under normal day-to-day circumstances, losing a portion of the roof on the house would be a significant blow and even cause for considerable distress. The whole perspective is changed when one is aware that others have lost their houses, homes and businesses.

Unfortunately, one person has lost their life in this cyclone. Given the magnitude of the event, we are certainly thankful that more lives have not been lost. This is particularly so in view of the fact that the majority of buildings in the path of the cyclone would not have been cyclone rated.

Australia has "copped" a few heavy hits in the past few years. Rebuilding, in all the senses of the word, I believe, must be our target. My concept of appropriate hierarchy, in Australia, is based on the individual, the family, community, state and the nation. We need to look after ourselves, not at the expense of the interests or welfare of others, but rather so that we maintain the best capacity that we can manage, individually, in order to contribute to the benefit of each level above us in what is essentially an inverted hierarchy.

I hope that is not sounding too philosophical, but it is the reason and the incentive for me to get out and do as much as I can, for myself, to recover the ground lost {using a military analogy}. In this way, I am better able to contribute, if and when required. This idea is well extended to our own experiences, as forum members, gathered in a group that serves people with various but somewhat similar issues and experiences in their lives. All this in our effort to work to achieve our best possible capacity, first for ourselves, and thus improving our own reserve capacity to meet the needs of others from time to time, as the need and opportunity arise. For many people, particularly carers, the demand on their personal reserves is almost constant.

With Much Appreciation

&

My Very Best Wishes

HenryX

[Appleblossom]

Not too philosophical @HenryX in my book.  We need it in these times.  

[HenryX]

@TheVorticon @TideisTurning @The-Hams @Snowie @Smc @Shaz51 @pipinya @outlander @Mazarita @Madge78 @grayhorn @frog @Frangipani1 @Emelia8 @Dimity @Determined @Darcy @Dani1981 @Daisydreamer @Clawde

@Burnt @BlueBay @bipolarbunny @Bezak482 @AZZ @AussieRecharger @Appleblossom @Anastasia @Always-hope @Adge

Hello to all the people mentioned above and everyone else who has followed the events first described by

@Shaz51 and me, @HenryX

under the heading

“Re: Climate Disasters ---- Cyclones”

and in particular the recent Tropical Cyclone (TC) Seroja event.

Power has been restored to most of the area in which I live, as of last week. There are a few houses, including mine that require electrical repairs before power can be reconnected. However, for the most part things are back to what could be called fairly normal.

Last week, most of the emergency crews were finishing the last of the temporary repairs, safety issues and protection from further water damage to various buildings around town.

The following information has been copied from the:

Community Cyclone Information Update - TC Seroja, 28 April 2021, 0900 hrs

WHAT EMERGENCY SERVICES ARE DOING
• DFES personnel from throughout the state will continue to maintain a presence in the affected area.
• State Emergency Service (SES) Volunteers from across the state are actively responding to requests for assistance in affected communities.
• The Incident Management Team are actively working with DFES personnel locally and across the State to ensure the safety of the community.
• Emergency services have received over 1452 calls for help to date.
• DFES personnel including staff and volunteers from SES, Volunteer Fire and Rescue Service, Career Fire and Rescue Service, Marine Rescue, Volunteer Fire and Emergency Services and local government Bushfire Brigades continue to have a presence in the affected communities and are assisting with recovery efforts.
• Storm damage teams from New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria and Queensland along with Australian Defence Force personnel have completed their tasks and are returning to their respective home States.
• Those community members with urgent requests for SES assistance, as well as those who no longer require assistance, can call 132500.

In addition to the above, The Red Cross, Salvos, Food Bank, among others, and counselling support services have been offered to people in the affected communities.

All of the above indicates the scale and scope of service provision during and following this event.

I had direct contact with Fire and Emergency Services, SES, and Red Cross personnel and phone contact with Disaster Relief Assistance staff. All of the people with whom I spoke were courteous, and appeared to me to be caring, concerned, effective and efficient in their use of time and materials.

In a few words, the work and effort provided by all the personnel from other areas, regions and States as well as agency staff and the various City and Shire Local Government employees was impressive. The work was done quietly, quickly and efficiently.

Initial problems with communications, I believe, may have slowed the capacity of the people in the communities in their ability to request help and caused some initial concern and anxiety. But once those issues were attended to, the provision of assistance was expedited. I know that, during this time, Shire staff were actively evaluating and assessing damage and seeking out those people who required assistance.

No doubt there will be recommendations made following an analysis and debriefing of the response to Tropical Cyclone (TC) Seroja. That analysis, I believe, will be important because it will assess the preparedness of Government, other service providers {including communications, power, water and sanitation} and NGO agencies to respond to any unusual and unexpected catastrophe, whether that be a result of natural (weather systems) or human forces and action. I believe that such preparedness is, unfortunately, very necessary in view of possible foreseeable events.

I have provided the above details as a

Mark of Respect and Statement of Appreciation

for the work and service provision by all the people involved in this TC Seroja cyclone event.

Thank you, also, to all forum members who expressed concern, sent notes of support, said a prayer or conveyed their thoughts in support for the people here during that cyclone.

With My Very Best Wishes to All

HenryX (& Kirra)

[Clawde]

Hi sweetheart Henry al that is nice and caring we all love you mate your amazing to know and be communicate with your lovely we like you please stay with us your fun and enjoy you feed back Thankyou so much love we understand and roll in life with you love love you love your safe with us "........""...lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll,.......................................... all happenenenns.          Eggs for breakfast at 10am   Kedron wavevelll heights   Yummy    All waear black shirts ❤️

[Shaz51]

ohhh yes @HenryX , cyclones i have been through a few big ones , crazy times 

@Clawde, @Appleblossom , @Former-Member , @Smc 

@eth  has been through cyclone tracy in 1974