Its a year since ex tropical cyclone Oswald hit us in Queensland, and I decided to see how Bundaburg, was faring. Virtually half the town seems to have affected in some way and the evidence is still there. Along the river are houses which are abandoned, or demolished, over grown, or derelict, but alongside them are businesses which have been reestablished and are operating as usual. There are boats which have ended up on dry land and are still there. It seems to be at the whim of insurance companies, some people are still waiting for their claims to be assessed, those that have been refused are still unrepaired.
But its the spirit of the people that seems to be the motivator. I spoke to one man who sharpens and repairs machinery. The business has been operating for over 100 years and he is back in business and going strong despite losing 2 cars and all of his stock. He also lives on the premises, so both his home and business was affected. They say the roar of the river was something to be remembered, it was so loud and could be heard streets away. Any infrastructure on the river banks was swept away and anything moored in the river went. The water was up to the road level of the bridges over the river, and sections of their foundations were swept away. Sections of road disappeared too. That seems to have been repaired.
It seems opportunity knocks when something like this happens. There are new opportunities available and if one can seize the moment and transform the destruction into something positive, there are benefits to be had. I saw a very good community project run by the Salvation Army which if I lived in Bundaberg, I’d like to volunteer at:
http://salvos.org.au/bundaberg/tom-quinn-community-centre/
My other books:
http://christinedeacon.wordpress.com/
christinedeacon2 