Cyclone Lam Update: 25 February
by Peter Higham
More than one week ago, Arnhem Land was put on high alert due to a slow moving cyclone. By Tuesday the 17th, MAF had begun evacuating their remote base staff (Milingimbi, Galiwinku, Lake Evella and Ramingining) as well as securing staff, planes and houses in Nhulunbuy/Yirrkala. The cyclone intensified further and turned into a Category 4 cyclone which was still rumbling towards Gove Nhulunbuy/Yirrkala (MAF’s main location for staff/planes etc).
By Wednesday operations had fully shut down. Six MAF planes and
eight MAF families that were sheltering in Ramingining and Milingimbi were evacuated to Darwin. As time progressed the cyclone shifted further west and throughout Thursday high winds and very high tides battered the coastal areas between Yirrkala/Nhulunbuy and Galiwinku. Cyclone Lam then turned towards land and began to hammer the island of Galiwinku. It crossed the coast as a severe category 4 cyclone, with wind gusts reported to be up to 260 kilometres per hour. After crossing the coast it hit Milingimbi and Ramingining before travelling further south and turning into a tropical storm. By this time communications had been lost, power and water was off for 1000’s in Milingimbi, Galiwinku and Ramingining. Many homelands surrounding these major communities were also without communications.
By late Friday afternoon images were slowly starting to appear showing the vast damage. On Saturday morning, a Laynha Air flight piloted by MAF pilot James Skinner and MAF communications rep, Peter Higham delivered fuel to GanGan, checked Dhoynji homeland for signs of life and overflew Gawa and Galiwinku communities. It was very clear that an intense storm had ripped through the land with 90% of the trees stripped of their leaves, branches. Parts of the coast had been eaten away with the intense tidal activity and the township of Galiwinku (home to more than 2000) looked as it had suffered greatly.
By Saturday the Government were sending in all types of support crews to assess the damage and offer help to the local island residents.
On Sunday 22nd, the six MAF planes and families began their way back from Darwin to their homes to assess the damage.
SUMMARY
ELCHO ISLAND (MAF Base):
Huge amount of damage to power and water infrastructure.
6 houses completely destroyed, up to 50 houses with major damage.
Power and water was out for nearly 3 days and is only slowly being restored.
No loss of life! Praise God
MAF properties:
House #1 had a huge tree fall on the roof and pierce a hole in the tin roof, allowing a lot of water to go into the house.
House #2 had an incredible amount of trees snapping all around it, as well as some broken windows and water damage.
MILINGIMBI (MAF Base):
Vast amount of damage to power and water infrastructure.
“It’s just a mess: branches, leaves, so many houses damaged.” (ABC Website). Debra Harding (FAST) survived the cyclone in Milingimbi in the community shelter but explained to Roland (MAF Bookings) that it was a terrifying experience.
Amazingly the two MAF houses at Milingimbi were safe and secure.
RAMINGINING (MAF Base):
Vast amount of damage to power and water infrastructure.
MAF properties:
House #1 had a huge tree fall on it, causing a lot of damage to the roof.
House #2 had an incredible amount of trees snapping all around it, but was kept secure.
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MAF STAFF
This has been a stressful and challenging experience for a lot of the MAF staff. Even though no one had to live through the heart of the cyclone the whole experience has been very hard. Please pray for the MAF team that they can recover and especially those living in communities that they will have a sense of peace, safety and joy as they return to live in their communities.
MAF INITIAL RESPONSE
As off Tuesday 24th MAF has started flying operations again, supporting the communities with flights. MAF was able to help transport Gawa and Mapuru residents from Darwin to Galiwinku with necessary supplies, chainsaws, food etc. Monday 23rd saw a team of MAF staff go from Gove to Galiwinku to begin the clean up process at the MAF houses. Power and water remains a problem for parts of Galiwinku. On Tuesday 25th, MAF sent a team of people from Gove to help with the clean up at the MAF Ramingining houses. On Thursday 26th a further team is planned to go back to Galiwinku to continue to support the MAF staff with the recovery process.
ONE PARTNERS FEEDBACK (NT CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS)
Many, many people have provided so much support to our school communities over the past week, but we would like to make special mention of the MAF Arnhem Land team and Lynne Walker (Member for Nhulunbuy). We thank God for the particular care and support that has been provided by these wonderful people.
Below is a great TESTIMONY of Gods hand of protection upon two Christian communities very close to Galiwinku:
Written by NT Christian Schools
Gäwa – All school and community buildings (with the exception of a small demountable) are still standing and the airstrip is clear. What an absolute miracle! The Wind Turbine lost its blades and headgear, so is now just a 30m pole sticking straight up in the air. We have 2 people from the Gäwa team heading up to the community today to do a ground-level assessment of the site. Once buildings have been assessed for any required repairs, the focus will be on clearing the ‘track’ (from Gäwa to Galiwinku) to restore a food/diesel supply route. Community members in Galiwinku are keen to get home to Gäwa. Evacuated staff remain in Darwin this week and are also keen to get back on the ground.
Mäpuru – With so many trees down at Mäpuru and no damage to buildings, there is no question that God’s mighty hand of protection was over that place. We believe the eye of TC Lam actually passed over the top of Mäpuru, as judged by the 30mins of sudden stillness in the early hours of Friday morning. Although there have been no injuries, many residents are still in a state of shock. Essential services have continued to function, as have phones. We are expecting food supplies to land as soon as the airstrip is open. Please continue to pray for Principal, Linda Miller, as she supports the school and the community on the ground at this time.
DONATE
MAF has incurred additional expenses evacuating families and aircraft, re-establishing them back in their homes and getting the programme up and running again. If you would like to donate to help us get back on our feet after Cyclone Lam, you can donate here.