One Year On – Catch-Up and Book Launch

By Carol Saffer 

Two community catch-ups to acknowledge one year since a significant storm event occurred on Wednesday, June 9, 2021 will be hosted by Moorabool Shire Council’s Storm Recovery Team.

Council CEO Derek Madden said, “With over 1,000 properties impacted across the Shire and thousands of trees down in the forest and on private land, we’re holding these get-togethers to acknowledge this event’s impact on our community and everything done to recover since.”

This event compounded the loss of power, communications, landlines and mobiles, and network coverage.

More than 1000 homes were without power after the first 24 hours, and more than half the Shire did not have landlines, mobiles or network coverage.

Council said it responded, working closely with emergency service agencies in the initial hours and days of the storm.

The council deployed staff and contractors to remove tree debris from roads to re-establish access.

While emergency efforts were also looking at the communities affected, the trauma experienced, and the relief and recovery needed.

Korweinguboora resident Matt Childs describes the experience of the storm “as though my family and I were going to die with trees coming down all around us.”

“It was like multiple mini earthquakes with vibrations shaking the house; it was an extremely traumatic event,” he said.

One Year On events will be held at the Blackwood Recreation Reserve on Sunday, June 19, from 11.00am to 3.00pm and the following Sunday, June 26, at the Korweinguboora Recreation Reserve at the same times.

They are a chance for the storm impacted community to catch up with emergency service responders and recovery agencies one year after the disaster.

Lunch is provided, and there are planned activities for kids.

Mr Childs has mixed feelings about the proposed One Year On event.

“On one hand, it would be good to catch up with the locals and bring them together, but on the other, it sounds like a bit of a celebration event with fairy floss and a book launch,” he said.

To read the full story – Simply click on the following link

https://issuu.com/themooraboolnews/docs/mn_2022-06-14/14

in the 14 June 2022 edition
OR
pick up a paper around your town.