School’s out for Tiwi College, different story on Bathurst Island
A Tiwi Islands school is out of action, while two others are hoping to return to class in the coming days.
Tiwi College school staff will be evacuated from the Tiwi Islands due to the level of destruction left by Cyclone Fina.
Before Darwin was hit by the category three cyclone on Saturday, it was the Tiwi Islands which was hit by destructive winds and heavy rain.
Such was the destruction that residents on both Melville and Bathurst Island remain without power.
On Melville Island, Tiwi College was hit particularly hard, with significant damage inflicted upon classrooms and support buildings.
As such, almost 40 people will catch the 20 minute flight to Darwin on Tuesday.
Principal James Faraone said the school was simply not in a position to crack on.
“It’s pretty messy here,” he told this masthead.
“All the roads are blocked, you can’t get in, can’t get out... thousands of trees down.
“There’s a lot of internal damage to the buildings - ceilings have fallen out.”
Mr Faraone said it was obvious the school was not ready for action.
“The boarding houses are not safe, the classrooms are not safe,” he said.
“There’s work to be done here so we just have to play it by ear.”
Further, one of the school’s water tanks was crushed by a fallen tree.
“Unfortunately that means our water supplies at big risk,” Mr Faraone said.
“So we are evacuating all of our staff out of Tiwi College tomorrow morning and we’ll somehow accommodate everyone in Darwin.”
Remarkably, no one was harmed despite the extensive damage.
“Everybody’s safe, everybody’s happy,” Mr Faraone said.
“We could be happier, of course, but everybody’s safe and well and nobody was injured.”
The experience has also brought the community a bit closer.
“We’ve got a great community here,” Mr Faraone said.
“The people here are amazing.”
Chalk and cheese
Meanwhile on Bathurst Island, Xavier Catholic College and Murrupurtiyanuwu Catholic Primary School have fared much better.
Both schools were converted into emergency shelters for Wurrumiyanga locals and, while copping the effects of Cyclone Fina, managed to escape intact.
“(There is) no major damage, but certainly a lot of mess,” Director of NT Catholic Education Paul Greaves said.
“Lots of trees down, a lot of stuff has to be cleared and we have to do safety inspections through the entire sites and grounds before we can have confidence that we can safely get community back in for school.”
Both school are hoping students will be able to return to school as soon as Wednesday.
Mr Greaves also paid tribute to the staff who put up their hand and volunteered at the emergency shelters.
“We’re proud of the staff for the way they stood up and just gave that service to the community,” he said.
“That’s one thing we’re really proud of - the fact they did that and it was not something they were expected to be called on to do.”
SeaLink gives indication
SeaLink has also given its first indication of when they expect to resume their Darwin-Wurrumiyanga ferry route.
A spokesperson told this masthead their services could return to schedule for Thursday, Friday and Sunday - dependant on weather conditions.
“The safety of our passengers, crew and vessels remains our highest priority. Following a cyclone, there is a higher risk of debris in the water, and we may need to adjust our operations accordingly, including reducing speed and placing additional lookouts on deck to ensure safe navigation,” they said.
“While this speed reduction does not affect departure times, it may impact arrival times. We thank the Tiwi community for their understanding and patience at this time, and we will continue to provide updates as soon as we can regarding ferry service resumption as conditions evolve.”
SeaLink has also made itself available to the NT Government’s emergency recovery services should additional support be required.
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Originally published as School’s out for Tiwi College, different story on Bathurst Island
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