Post by tajiritarantula on May 16, 2005 8:27:21 GMT -5
I know Lance - I looked around Bunbury too.
Alright, as some of you who know me personally may be aware, I am interested in becoming a journalist. I thought I would take this opportunity to write an article on what happened to Bunbury and stuff - I am open to feedback, so please tell me what you think:
HAVOC AND DAMAGE AS WILD WEATHER HITS BUNBURY
By
( 
) - Monday May 16, 2005
The people of Bunbury awoke to havoc this morning as one of the largest storms ever to hit the Western Australian coastal city wrecked buildings, causing a damage bill estimated to be in the millions. A mini-tornado ripped through the city at approximately 6:15am on Monday morning, tearing buildings in the very clear path it left. The damage was widespread, with trees being uprooted, buildings damaged and rooves dislodged and blown away, from Bunbury Senior High School, through the built-up area in the city itself, all the way to the Wollaston train station and Bunbury Catholic College.
The worst damage occurred in the Bunbury central business district, with numerous buildings being wrecked due to the tornado’s fierce winds. The tornado, estimated to be around 20 metres across, ripped apart buildings all throughout Bunbury, with the debris making the city look like a war zone. On Blair Street, the Bunbury Smash Repairs building got well and truly smashed itself, with almost the entire front brick wall ripped off. Just near the smash repairs, tyre repair store The Tyre Place was very badly hit, with the roof and front wall completely torn off, leaving the inside stock and wooden framing as the only survivors of the tornado. Further into the town, the complex containing Regency Dry Cleaners and the former Bunbury Farmers Market store had glass shattered and signs bent. Local car yards suffered heavily, with the Hyundai and Volkswagen dealers suffering damage estimated in the millions, with wood crashing onto cars, leaving potential sales worthy vehicles destined for the scrapheap.
Possibly the worst damage, and biggest good-luck story was reserved for the local ABC Radio complex. ABC journalist Alisha O'Flaherty had a very lucky escape as she prepared her 6.30am bulletin. A 38 metre crane which was doing maintenance work on the building behind the ABC crashed straight onto where her office was, and she said that she was walking towards a printer as she when the crane collapsed, crushing the newsroom. “I heard a sound like a train coming
towards me and basically this enormous crash behind
me, and the whole office was destroyed” said Ms. O’Flaherty. Obviously realising the stroke of fate
she had just received, and the description of the event she later gave, she did not want to leave anything to chance. “I was shocked for a second, and then we all gathered together and left the building because we didn't think it was stable,” she added. “It’s an amazing sight. This crane has collapsed on the building and half of it is flattened.”
The last time Bunbury witnessed such a major natural disaster was all the way back in 1978, when Cyclone Alby ripped through the city. Residents who were in Bunbury for both events have described this event as comparable to the cyclone, with some going as far to say that today’s event was greater than the 1978 cyclone. Local Liberal member of parliament and former mayor of Bunbury, John Castrilli, speaking to Radio West today, described how he was in the Goldfields at the time that Alby hit, but people he has spoken to throughout the course of today described the tornado as worse than the event of 1978. He also said that he was initially unaware of the extent of the damage, originally thinking today’s event was just a routine storm, but when he arrived at his office in the city for work this morning, he could see how big a disaster this event was.
The clean-up effort will be continuing in the coming days and weeks, although unreserved praise must be given to the Special Emergency Service volunteers, who went beyond the call of duty to spend today ensuring debris was taken off roads, fallen trees could be removed and buildings were able to get temporary rooves. The most amazing and positive tale from the whole event was that for all the broken buildings, fallen powerlines, uprooted trees, shattered glass and flying debris, there were no reports of any injuries sustained as a result of today’s catastrophe.
BREAKING NEWS
For those of you who saw today's Bunbury Herald, St. Patrick's Cathedral will have to be demolished.
This is a sad day for a Bunbury icon, and being a Catholic, I am upset by this, and wish I could attend one more mass inside this great church.
Alright, as some of you who know me personally may be aware, I am interested in becoming a journalist. I thought I would take this opportunity to write an article on what happened to Bunbury and stuff - I am open to feedback, so please tell me what you think:
HAVOC AND DAMAGE AS WILD WEATHER HITS BUNBURY
By
( ) - Monday May 16, 2005The people of Bunbury awoke to havoc this morning as one of the largest storms ever to hit the Western Australian coastal city wrecked buildings, causing a damage bill estimated to be in the millions. A mini-tornado ripped through the city at approximately 6:15am on Monday morning, tearing buildings in the very clear path it left. The damage was widespread, with trees being uprooted, buildings damaged and rooves dislodged and blown away, from Bunbury Senior High School, through the built-up area in the city itself, all the way to the Wollaston train station and Bunbury Catholic College.
The worst damage occurred in the Bunbury central business district, with numerous buildings being wrecked due to the tornado’s fierce winds. The tornado, estimated to be around 20 metres across, ripped apart buildings all throughout Bunbury, with the debris making the city look like a war zone. On Blair Street, the Bunbury Smash Repairs building got well and truly smashed itself, with almost the entire front brick wall ripped off. Just near the smash repairs, tyre repair store The Tyre Place was very badly hit, with the roof and front wall completely torn off, leaving the inside stock and wooden framing as the only survivors of the tornado. Further into the town, the complex containing Regency Dry Cleaners and the former Bunbury Farmers Market store had glass shattered and signs bent. Local car yards suffered heavily, with the Hyundai and Volkswagen dealers suffering damage estimated in the millions, with wood crashing onto cars, leaving potential sales worthy vehicles destined for the scrapheap.
Possibly the worst damage, and biggest good-luck story was reserved for the local ABC Radio complex. ABC journalist Alisha O'Flaherty had a very lucky escape as she prepared her 6.30am bulletin. A 38 metre crane which was doing maintenance work on the building behind the ABC crashed straight onto where her office was, and she said that she was walking towards a printer as she when the crane collapsed, crushing the newsroom. “I heard a sound like a train coming
towards me and basically this enormous crash behind
me, and the whole office was destroyed” said Ms. O’Flaherty. Obviously realising the stroke of fate
she had just received, and the description of the event she later gave, she did not want to leave anything to chance. “I was shocked for a second, and then we all gathered together and left the building because we didn't think it was stable,” she added. “It’s an amazing sight. This crane has collapsed on the building and half of it is flattened.”
The last time Bunbury witnessed such a major natural disaster was all the way back in 1978, when Cyclone Alby ripped through the city. Residents who were in Bunbury for both events have described this event as comparable to the cyclone, with some going as far to say that today’s event was greater than the 1978 cyclone. Local Liberal member of parliament and former mayor of Bunbury, John Castrilli, speaking to Radio West today, described how he was in the Goldfields at the time that Alby hit, but people he has spoken to throughout the course of today described the tornado as worse than the event of 1978. He also said that he was initially unaware of the extent of the damage, originally thinking today’s event was just a routine storm, but when he arrived at his office in the city for work this morning, he could see how big a disaster this event was.
The clean-up effort will be continuing in the coming days and weeks, although unreserved praise must be given to the Special Emergency Service volunteers, who went beyond the call of duty to spend today ensuring debris was taken off roads, fallen trees could be removed and buildings were able to get temporary rooves. The most amazing and positive tale from the whole event was that for all the broken buildings, fallen powerlines, uprooted trees, shattered glass and flying debris, there were no reports of any injuries sustained as a result of today’s catastrophe.
BREAKING NEWS
For those of you who saw today's Bunbury Herald, St. Patrick's Cathedral will have to be demolished.
This is a sad day for a Bunbury icon, and being a Catholic, I am upset by this, and wish I could attend one more mass inside this great church.