PICKING over family treasures in what’s left of Fitzroy Crossing homes all but destroyed by flood water is heart-breaking. A small group of residents evacuated to Broome have returned to their homes to see what can be salvaged, which is very little. At its peak the flood water was one metre above the roofs of single-storey houses. Resident Lane Marr was distressed to airstrip coordinating a fleet of civilian and see what remained. “There’s nothing left, everything’s gone. It’s sad to see it like this. I don’t know how we’ll replace it,” Mr Marr said. It’s a common story in the devastated community.
Natalie Davey is a presenter on local community radio station Wangki, which began emergency broadcasting as the natural disaster unfolded. “We were in crisis, and from first community meetings knew that we needed help from Defence because of their training and capability,” Ms Davey said. “People needed to know that they were safe and that things could be sorted quickly.” At Fitzroy Crossing airport, a mobile air operations team camped alongside the airstrip coordinating a fleet of civilian and Defence aircraft providing supplies and personnel – the muscle to evacuate the vulnerable, repair infrastructure and clear debris. Bunuba Elder Mary Aiken and a small group from the town were invited to see the operation. “The flood this year was really scary,” Ms Aiken said.”
When we knew Defence was coming you could see people sort of calm down and see on their faces that they were happy that someone is looking out for them. “When eventually Defence came into town, children and adults were excited. Without Defence and DFES [Department of Fire and Emergency Services] I think nothing would have been done.” Defence liaison officer on the ground, Maj Stuart Cumming, knows the town and its people well as the former principal of the local school. “The single comment I kept hearing was that the cavalry had arrived and the sense that things would move forward,” Maj Cumming said. “It was heartening to see the welcome we got from the community. They were just all open arms.”
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