On Wednesday 14th April 1999 a severe hailstorm hit Sydney at about 10:30pm with hailstones, some as large as tennis balls, falling over several suburbs continuously for about 10 minutes. The effects of this storm were felt from Sutherland in the south of Sydney through Botany Bay and up to Darlinghurst. NSWSES units were immediately deployed to conduct reconnaissance in these areas and to report to SES State Headquarters on the severity of the damage. Many houses and commercial buildings were found to have sustained some roof and window damage, and many of these buildings had their roofs completely destroyed, some limited repair action began immediately using local SES unit equipment. Following a clearer picture of the damage being obtained the following day, NSWSES, NSW Rural Fire Service, and NSW Fire Brigades worked hard to provide emergency repair to some effected buildings over the next few days. Approximately 11,500 calls for assistance were received over the first 12 day period.
On the evening of Sunday 18th April 1999 the ACT B&ES Duty Coordinator was contacted by NSWSES requesting ACTES assistance with roof repair teams in the Sydney area. A taskforce of 28 people assembled at ESB on Monday morning at 6:00am for a briefing and then made their way to Sydney. On arrival this taskforce was assigned to the Botany Bay SES Local Headquarters for tasking, and at this time they were advised that there were 835 jobs outstanding in the Botany Bay area. The taskforce was allocated to a sector and immediately commenced work. Despite the efforts of the ACT members and that of the other crews in this area, the number of requests for assistance at the end of the day increased to 844 due to further problems being identified. The number of tasks continued to increase as householders approached teams for assistance, and inclement weather undoing previous repair work.
The next day saw our taskforce back in the same area from dawn till dusk providing further assistance to the people of Botany Bay. Their main duties were to provide either full or partial covering of the damaged roofs with tarpaulins and plastic sheeting. The houses in this area were generally single storey, although there were some two storey houses and flats. Most houses are estimated to be around 50 years old, and many still had their original roof tiles which had become very brittle over time and this made working on the roofs a little risky. At the end of the second day there was still in excess of 850 tasks outstanding in the Botany Bay area.
On Wednesday 21st April a second taskforce of 27 ACTES volunteers gathered at ESB at 5:00am bound for Sydney to relieve the initial taskforce. This group arrived in Sydney at 10:00am and a hand over commenced. On completion, the first taskforce returned to Canberra and the relieving group headed for Botany Bay for tasking. On arrival, they were asked to work in a sector consisting of about 600 houses, most of which needed some attention. Work began immediately but with high winds and intermittent rain, progress was slow. This group continued to work throughout the evening and finished at about 10:00pm. Following a mix up with accommodation, they were sent to Randwick Army Barracks to sleep overnight. While on their way to the barracks, they were asked to repair the marquee that was being used as a kitchen at the Barracks and which had come apart in the high winds. There was little that the crews could do however without dropping the marquee to the ground, so it was left as was.
An early morning start on Thursday back into the same sector saw every house in some streets needing attention. Often teams were going back over work that had previously been done but that now needed further work due to damage done by the 40kph winds and driving rain throughout the day and overnight. NSWSES were working flat out at this time with keeping up the supply of stores and equipment to our crews and to the NSW RFS and NSWSES crews working in our area.
On Friday 23rd April the 2nd taskforce commenced work early in an effort to get some more work done before being relieved by the next incoming ACT crews. At 5:00 am the 3rd taskforce gathered at ESB for a briefing prior to going to Sydney. This taskforce of 48 people included 26 ACTES members and 22 ACT BFS members. On arrival at Randwick Army Barracks, a changeover commenced and the 2nd taskforce returned to Canberra. The 3rd taskforce then moved to Botany Bay to commence work. Weather conditions had now improved with only light rain and decreasing winds. With the larger ACT taskforce now at Botany Bay, significant progress was made in our sector. At this time 25 VICSES crews and several NSWSES crews were also working in both our sector and adjoining sectors and were placed under ACTES command.
On Saturday 24th April we were given the responsibility for managing two sectors, and another three sectors were assigned to us later in the day. With 10 ACT teams working, plus the 25 teams from Victoria, our initial sector was completed with the exception of only two or three houses, and all our efforts were concentrated on the additional areas. As the teams gained a greater understanding of what to do, and how to do it, the work tended to take less time to complete and so more houses were attended to. Most householders were extremely appreciative of the work being done by the interstate teams, and many of our members were well fed by the residents with hot scones and jam being the highlight for one team.
ANZAC Day on Sunday saw a different kind of dawn service than most people had been used to with the service at the break of dawn this time being primarily focussed on tarping roofs. Half of our VICSES crews were returning home today and were only available for a limited time, they were being replaced by more VICSES crews tomorrow. To compensate for the fewer numbers, we were assigned 14 NSWRFS tanker crews to continue the operation, these crews were all under the guidance of ACTES team leaders. By now progress in our areas was moving quickly and through the tireless efforts of our teams, we were able to assist a large number of the residents in the Botany Bay area.
Monday 26th April was the last day for the 3rd contingent. Work commenced early morning and with some assistance by VICSES crews we were able to complete another sector before leaving for Canberra at 11:30am. After unloading all NSWSES equipment that was no longer required, and following a word of thanks from the NSWSES local taskforce commander, the ACT crews departed for home. At this stage there was still about 800 jobs to be done in the Botany Bay area. The cooperation between the ES and BFS members of this taskforce was outstanding and the level of understanding of the other Service’s roles had increased markedly.
On Tuesday 27th April the ACT B&ES Duty Coordinator again received a call for assistance from NSWSES. It was decided that a 4th taskforce would be assembled early on Friday morning 30th April to head for Sydney, and that this taskforce was to return to Canberra, leaving Sydney at lunchtime on Sunday 2nd May. At about 5:00am after a briefing and refuelling the vehicles a combined ES and BFS taskforce of 33 people left for Sydney. At this stage we were still unsure as to where we would be working.
A phone call to NSWSES Southern Division at 8:00am found that we would be assigned to the Randwick area which had in excess of 1,100 tasks outstanding. The taskforce arrived at Randwick local SES headquarters at about 9:45am for tasking. After completing numerous forms and much discussion with Randwick staff, the taskforce left for the local council depot at about 11:00am to stock up with tarpaulins, rope etc. and then proceeded to their areas of responsibility. At this stage the ACT teams seemed to be all over the place rather than be allocated to a single area. Crews from NSWFB, NSWRFS, VICSES, NSWSES and the Army were working in the Randwick area.
There were a number of multi storey residences that needed work as well as many single level houses, luckily the weather was fine and not too much wind so work was able to progress steadily.
Saturday 1st May and the weather outlook was not good. Rain was predicted to fall throughout the day, and this time the weather forecasters got it right. Most members of the taskforce were soaked to the skin in the intermittent heavy rain that seemed to hit without warning. Progress was still quite good though and with the teams working closer by each other than they had done the previous day, spirits were good.
Sunday 2nd May was to be the last day that the ACT would have crews assisting in Sydney. Both the VICSES and the combined Bushfire Service and ACTES taskforces were to be relieved by SASES and QLDSES units. They were able to finish off several houses that were in need of some extensive repair and by midday the ACT taskforce had assembled at Randwick LHQ to be thanked by Mr Bob Debus, the NSW Minister for Emergency Services. Mr Debus was obviously extremely grateful for the work undertaken by the ACT over the last couple of weeks, and was very complimentary about the professionalism of the work, and the amount of time that the volunteers were prepared to give up to help a neighbouring state.
The ACT taskforce left Sydney at about 12:30pm and headed for Canberra. On arrival just after 5:00pm we were greeted by Mr Mike Castle, Executive Director, and Mr Peter Lucas-Smith, Director Bushfire and Emergency Services, who thanked the taskforce for all their work.
To note some of the more significant points of this operation:
Members of each of the taskforces that went to Sydney will all admit that they learnt an enormous amount in how to provide assistance following major storm activity. New tarping techniques, the different uses of common equipment, and exposure to new emergency repair equipment were some of the more valuable lessons to come from this operation. The efforts of the taskforce commanders, team leaders and team members were always first class. Many of the Bushfire service members were assisting with storm damage operations for the first time, and all acquitted themselves very, very well.
Our thanks are passed on from the Emergency Services Bureau staff to all volunteer members who attended the operation, as well as to those that were unable to attend but who provided support back in the ACT. Thanks must also go out to the families of those members who were also disrupted during their absence, and especially to those members who unselfishly gave up a long weekend and the following weekend to give some assistance to those less fortunate than themselves. The contribution of these people is certainly appreciated by the people and the government of Sydney, the NSW State Emergency Service, as well as the ACT Government and the Emergency Services Bureau.
Tony Graham
Manager
Bushfire and Emergency Services