Grey nomads – like everyone travelling in Australia – need to be constantly aware of the possibility of extreme and unexpected weather events throwing a spanner in the works.
Earlier this week, for example, a severe storm came out of nowhere and caused extensive damage at the tiny town of Carinda, near Walgett in western NSW … which is famed for David Bowie’s 1983 Let’s Dance music video, and the Let’s Dance Festival it spawned.
The pub where that iconic video was shot has now become the headquarters for a massive cleanup operation.
Multiple commercial buildings in the town of 100 or so residents were damaged, including the pub, the pizza restaurant, and the general store.
Carinda suffered significant damage in the storm. PIC: SES
More than 40 NSW SES storm and height experts have been working alongside local volunteers and Fire and Rescue NSW crews to inspect and secure a number of damaged properties.
NSW SES incident controller, Chief Superintendent Brigid Rice said the teams had now completed all assessments.
“There has been considerable impact to nine homes and four commercial buildings, which are either destroyed or uninhabitable,” Chief Superintendent Rice said.
She said crews on scene had been working through roof damage, debris and fallen trees. Asbestos was also a concern given the age of some of the buildings.
Chief Superintendent Rice said despite the damage in the area, the community morale had been high.
“We held a community meeting this morning, and spirits are pretty good, the residents are all supporting each other through the cleanup and were grateful for the SES and emergency partner’s assistance.
“The NSW SES will be undertaking further welfare checks with community members in outlying areas as well.”
The NSW SES has also been working with Essential Energy, and the Walgett Shire Emergency Operations Centre, to ensure essential services are restored as soon as possible. In the meantime, some services have been maintained using generators.
One local resident, Michael Campbell, told the ABC his windows ‘exploded’ when the storm struck and his veranda was picked up and flipped over the roof of his house.
“The windows sort of exploded out, all the glass was pushed out instead of being in,” Mr Campbell said.
“I’ve had a lot of thunderstorms. I’ve lived in a lot of different places with pretty severe storms, but nothing quite like that.”
The Let’s Dance Carinda Festival is normally held in October every year and draws visitors from across the country.
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