Port Lincoln has been without electricity, phone signal and internet since Wednesday
STORM ravaged and powerless for three days, Port Lincoln resembles a ‘ghost town” — empty shops, barren streets and closed schools.
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STORM battered Port Lincoln is ghost-like: rows of empty shops, barren streets and closed schools.
With limited contact with the outside world, the proud and resilient locals feel they have been forgotten, left on their own to battle the hardship of no power for three days and dwindling fuel supplies.
Former deputy mayor Bob Richardson echoed the thoughts of many, branding the power outage “ridiculous” and blaming the State Government’s response as “much too slow.”
“It’d be all right if we were treated the same as Adelaide, but we’re not. No one cares about what happens north of Gepps Cross,” he said.
“It’s bloody frustrating, seeing businesses lose thousands and thousands of dollars and nothing being done to fix it almost three days later,” Mr Richardson added.
The city had been without power, phone signals and the internet since Wednesday evening. Power was restored only late last night, bringing some belated relief and sense of normality to the community.
The city was powered by three back-up generators for four hours on Wednesday evening after catastrophic winds saw the whole state without electricity. The failure of those generators plunged many residents into darkness.
Mayor Bruce Green said the power outage meant Port Lincoln would suffer an substantial economic dent, but praised the community’s positive response.
He said some parts of the community were faring better than others.
“Lots of people are prepared, they have back-up generators and their own water supply and are OK, but others have mains water, little food or money and have no electricity and no access to phone or internet connections. Plus, it’s cold and it’s rainy,” he said.
Premier Jay Weatherill said the community’s resilience stood out to him during his visit to Port Lincoln yesterday.
“I think we see people getting on with it. There’s obviously some real issues for people as they struggle with health needs .. and the fact they’ve been without power and can’t cook fresh food and obviously food is spoiling in their fridges, but the community services are working well.
Wendy Sky was pleased the Premier visited because it was the first she had heard of the $700 compensation payment available.
Ms Sky was at the sport centre where people could go for hot food with her son, Shilo, 7, who has diabetes.
They were forced to leave their home, which was “being held up by broomsticks” after the roof started to collapse. Shilo’s medication was being kept cool in an Esky to stop it going off.
Despite being laid up for his regular dialysis treatment at the hospital, Allan Chenhall, 79, did not hold back expressing his displeasure with the extended power outage.
He told Mr Weatherill there must be compensation for all the food people were forced to throw out, not to mention the hardship many endured.
