And to think - it could have been even worse. The event was downgraded from what was expected - and it still did all that damage.
I hear you on the difficulties of getting people out of an area like this, when they may not be able to afford it or may not be physically capable. There ARE ways tat help can be made available.
In our last major fires in 1994, emergency vehicles couldn't get to us because road access to us was suddenly cut off by fires. We've been used to this before, but this time was bad - much worse than we'd ever seen, and radio warnings, other warnings were nonexistent. However, as word trickled through, people contacted one another, word spread (word of mouth) and neighbours went door to door to help others. The phone rang - relatives wanting to help from "the mainland". The bay was filling with boats as people sailed over, trying to pluck us form the beaches. For us at the time, we didn't even know we were in such danger because we couldn't even smell smoke - the fire was just too big.
I was too ill to do much more than organise the kids to get spare undies and toothbrush each into a plastic bag, before a neighbour drove us to the wharf. The ferry had been stopped but was running again. By this time, evac centres had been set up in the village away from the biggest risk of fire, down by the beach. A lot of people stayed, but they stayed to help and to work as part of a team. Those who couldn't be of use, like me at the time, were shipped (literally) to the mainland. Once there we were met by ambulance officers assessing our condition (no reason for there to be a problem) and from there, sent to a quickly-set-up refugee centre. Once there we were fed and assessed again as to where to send us - hospital (I was in labour, but not about to have the baby) or to a billet. They had contacts for us but we had one of our own. We had to give them the name of the person who housed us so we could be contacted if needed.
Going back home - not permitted for three days. Adter that the place was roadblocked off so non-residents were not permitted. This continued for several weeks, when we had deliveries or people wanting to visit, that simply wasn't possible for a few weeks, and then they had to give a specific address which sometimes was double-checked - I got a few phone calls asking if we were expecting a visit from anyone. The purpose - to prevent sightseers.
A few years ago there was another bad fire heading our way - this time there was still road access, at least enough for the police to have got through to us. The police and local fire brigade drove around the streets with sirens, making announcements. Special evac boats had been arranged, with a welcoming committee on the mainland to look after anyone who wanted to leave. We were recommended to leave if we were non-residents (it was holiday time) or if we were unable to be useful in protecting our property. This time we chose to stay and fight. husband & I know our area well and were fairly sure there wouldn't be any problem, plus for us it was good therapy to stay, for us.
If we had wanted to leave but were unable to get ourselves to the boat, the police or the brigade would have organised it for us. Again, accommodation would have been organised as well as food. Donated, as a rule.
Where there is the opportunity to get help into an area beforehand, we can always get help to get out if we want it. Where there have been disasters with little or no advance warning, we are better set up to get help in place for clean-up as well as rescue. It's far from perfect, but it IS more streamlined.
What really worries me about photos of floods etc - people 'playing' in the aftermath. especially people wading through the water - it's dangerous. Not only could there be ANYTHING under the muddy water (such as hidden drains, sharp debris) there is also a lot of disease risk with backed up septics dumping their contents into the floodwaters. "Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink."
The attitude should be - if you choose to not leave (and there should always be the choice - poverty or other inability should never have to be a factor) then you should be adequately prepared and capable of looking after yourself, so as to not become an unnecessary burden on rescue services already stretched beyond their limits.
Marg
