Community strength underpins Cyclone Seroja recovery

Chief Operations Officer Ben Macnamara said the community spirit and response to the disaster had been remarkable.

“A huge thank you to the CBH Geraldton team, some of which have been personally affected, for their tireless efforts helping families, businesses and communities impacted by the damage,” Ben said.

Community resilience on show

Our Geraldton team is continuing to work with friends, families, growers and communities on the ground.

The team have been on the ground with bulldozers and skid steers clearing trees, tin and assorted debris from roads, backyards and bowling clubs around communities.

Our blue storage tarps, normally used to cover open bulkheads, have another use and are in high demand for use as temporary rooves for houses, workshops, sheds and storage facilities across the region.

Stronger than the normal builder’s tarps, CBH has been distributing the tarps since the disaster struck some three weeks ago, providing over 70 of the covers to people in Kalbarri, Northampton and surrounds.

With the electricity network severely damaged and still out in many communities, CBH has been lending available generators to families to power their homes.

Larger generators have been provided to Water Corporation to ensure people everyone has access to clean running water.

CBH team members have been running groceries and supplies out to elderly residents in regional towns, where food and provisions have not been readily available.

“It has been amazing to see the strength and resilience of Mid-West communities who are continuing to clean-up and rebuild following the cyclone,” Ben said.

“We want to acknowledge and recognise the hardworking community members and CBH team in the region for their tireless efforts.”

The CBH team is working with our tarping contractors to repair and reuse damaged tarps, which will also be offered when they are available.

Operations back up and running

All open bulkheads in the Geraldton Zone that were exposed by the extreme winds have now been retarped.

Trains are now back up and running, bringing grain from most of our upcountry receival sites to port.

Roads are open and a rescheduled trucking program has resumed from most CBH sites.

The Geraldton Grain Terminal is operational and has started loading ships, which is an important step as CBH transitions towards normal operations.

“We’re doing everything we can to try and catch up all the lost days in moving and shipping grain,” Ben said.