The Need to be Prepared

Posted by Frana Cardno on 14 May 2009 | 0 Comments

Tags: Disasters, 1984 Southland floods, Tuatapere, Otautau, Invercargill, community spirit, Winton, Riverton, Te Anau, Lumsden, Wyndham, Gore, Southland Museum and Art Gallery

Disasters are unpredictable and can destroy everything within moments, as the devastating bushfires in Victoria have shown us so vividly.

The tragedy that has unfolded in Victoria is too close to home to be ignored, with our rural firefighters, police and helicopter pilots all helping out over there.

And the fires also show us that disaster can happen anywhere at any time and we need to be prepared.

This simple fact was brought home to me last month when I attended the launch of the 25th anniversary of the 1984 Southland floods, which hit parts of Southland particularly hard.

I have never been in a flood, unless, of course, you count my rather frequent flooding of my laundry, which would drip down into Murray's workshop and onto his precious timber, which certainly stressed him.

But I have seen the effects, particularly with my mother, whose family home was in the way of floodwaters from a dam burst.
The horror of that flood and the damage to the home and the family possessions stayed with her forever.

One thing she frequently talked about was the smell, particularly afterwards, and that aspect was something I heard repeated frequently at the launch.

I was not involved in Council when the floods hit, but several of our longtime staff members were and their remembrances even 25 years later brought the disaster home to me.

Invercargill, Tuatapere and Otautau were hit particularly hard by the January floods in 1984; with large parts of Tuatapere and Otautau evacuated.

Area offices manager Chris Dolan was deputy county clerk in Otautau in 1984 and said the big thing that stood out for him was the support of everyone - those who volunteered to help out civil defence and the rural people who had not been affected by the flood who took in families and looked after them while their flooded homes were being inspected.

He also remembered a home in the elevated part of Otautau where the floodwaters could not reach being used as a crèche, with at least nine babies under 18 months and their mums living there for at least three days.

The golf club also housed many people and was also the landing base for the NZ Army.

One frustrating memory was of a man driving a grader down the middle of the main street through the floodwaters and creating waves that washed into already damaged homes.

Several people talked about how their children would get upset when they heard rain start after the floods, with one child becoming so distraught at school the teachers had to ring her parents to come and get her.

But less heard about and still as traumatic was the damage done to the rural communities in Southland, so much a part of our life.
Luckily no people were killed in the floods, although some of those working to protect homes and properties believe that was a miracle. However, more than 12,500 stock were killed and farmers also lost 170km of fences, 52 farm bridges and 234 culverts.

Council area engineer Graham Jones, who was Southland County Council bridge engineer at the time, spent a lot of time on farms assessing the damage to private bridges.

He was also on the roads looking at Council bridges, with 70 out of commission for at least a couple of weeks. Thirteen had to be rebuilt and many more had major work. The damage was widespread throughout the Southland district, he said.

Group manager regulatory services Lindsay McKenzie was county clerk at Wallace at the time of the flood and said the sense of family meant people worked together during and after the flood
This anniversary marks the floods but also the dedication and hard work of those involved, both the workers and the volunteers, and the backbone of Southland - its community spirit and support.
A travelling roadshow that will visit some of the towns in Southland, in particular Otautau and Tuatapere, is part of the commemorations.

Starting in Winton in February, the roadshow will then move to Otautau in March, Tuatapere in April, Riverton in May, Te Anau in June, Lumsden in July, Wyndham in August, Gore in September and return to Invercargill in October, when it will be incorporated into a larger exhibition at the Southland Museum and Art Gallery.

We have all become inured to tragedy because we see so much of it on television, either in the news or through advertising, but when it happens, and it will happen again in Southland because we live in a floodprone area, we do need to be aware of what to do.

I also think it is extremely important to consider the work, often unpaid, that Civil Defence does in the community. People in Civil Defence often do not get recognised for their hard work and then when a disaster strikes, are first in line to be blamed.

People do not appreciate the hours of training needed to be prepared when disaster does happen and when it does; we certainly do need the Civil Defence staff and volunteers.
I encourage you to go and have a look at the roadshow when it visits near you, think about the human stories and think about being prepared.

Our hearts all bleed for the communities in Victoria and the lives lost. Material possessions melt into insignificance beside the deaths. It is a wakeup call for us to be prepared as we are told so often to be ready.