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Wild Winds Lash Sydney
Gale-force winds have caused havoc in Sydney, downing powerlines and trees, blowing rooves off houses etc. In Sydney: one man died when a tree fell on his car, search has been called off due to bad weather for two missing swimmers off the northern beaches. The Gale has caused damage all down the south-east coast of Australia. NSW State Emergency Services (SES) spokesman Peter OâNeill said the strong gale force winds which began this morning were expected to continue until at least tonight, then become moderate overnight. SES is our volunteer organisation. They donât get paid but they have a lot of fun. They were busy tonight, backlogged with hundreds of calls. "A lot of trees have come down, also branches have come down ... into yards, across roads, onto cars, (the winds have) brought down power lines, and weâve also had a lot of house damage," he said. "Weâve had over 500 SES volunteers out, and theyâve been supported by the NSW Fire Brigadeâs firefighters. SES is brilliant, I canât recommend enough to the Brits and Merkins how good it is to have a State-wide co-ordinated team of volunteers supporting the Fireys/police. It helps to clear problems up in double quick time. You could all start up your own volunteer emergency services! You get first-aid training, general rescue and communications training, protective clothing etc. All very useful things to have citizens trained in . Posted by: Anon1 2003-08-24 |
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