Whirlwind of good deeds during Cyclone Veronica

Tropical Cyclone Veronica passed us by — after taking her time about it — and now the clean-up operation is well under way.

While TC Veronica didn’t lash us with category-five winds, it was still a fair old blow in Roebourne, Wickham and Point Samson, where the maximum gust was 154kmh.

When things get tough, we often see the best in people come out, and with TC Veronica, this was no exception.

It was great to see local people volunteering to pitch in to help strangers clean up their yards before the cyclone hit.

I was so impressed with the lady who purchased 80 McDonald’s meals with her own money for people sheltering in the Karratha Leisureplex evacuation centre on the Friday night.

She then cooked big trays of curry and rice for the evacuees on other evenings.

What an effort.

I was also impressed by the Horizon Power crews who went out in the red alert to restore power to Point Samson homes.

These are just a few examples of the strong community spirit on display during the cyclone, and council would like to thank all our emergency response agencies and hardworking volunteers for their efforts during TC Veronica.

Soon after the cyclone passed, the City of Karratha took control of post-cyclone recovery efforts.

We had staff in Point Samson less than two hours after the all-clear was issued, and Sharpe Avenue cleared the same day.

We have hired as many local contractors as possible to get things cleaned up and our facilities and services back to business as quickly as possible.

Finally, thank you to all of you in the community who responded so well to the cyclone warning systems, prepared early, and followed the directions during a very long red alert shut-in.