Monster waves, king tide turn Terrigal into scene of devastation
THE weekend’s perfect storm has torn Terrigal apart, with the popular tourist spot a scene of debris and devastation.
Central Coast
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THE perfect storm of monster waves and the year’s highest tide turned Terrigal’s usually tranquil seaside setting into a wasteland of debris and utter devastation today.
In what has been described as the worst storm to hit Terrigal, Wamberal and Avoca since 1974, Marine Rescue at The Haven sustained more than $100,000 damage as it “just about lost the lot” and the Clan Lakeside Lodge had windows blown out as tsunami-force floodwaters sent furniture from its once lagoon-facing restaurant into the back car park.
More than 20,000 homes across the Central Coast were blacked out at the height of the storm yesterday.
The State Emergency Service (SES) had 270 call-outs for its Gosford and Wyong crews, and the region’s total rainfall was 214.8mm across the weekend.
Popular tourist spot Terrigal copped the worst of the storm, driven by an East Coast Low that hammered the entire NSW coastline from Saturday afternoon until early today.
Roads were closed in the area last night as the bridge on Ocean View Drive flooded. Ferries were suspended yesterday, and train services were disrupted as the storm gripped the region.
There was massive erosion at Terrigal and Wamberal beaches. And towering torrents of seawater caused damage to three roller doors at Terrigal surf club, while Avoca escaped the king-tide caning last night after major sandbagging efforts all day.
The Woy Woy peninsula also copped severe flooding with dozens of streets under water while localised flooding hit residents living around Tuggerah Lakes.
Central Coast Council issued a public health alert after the storms struck, urging residents to be mindful of how much water is flushed down drains and toilets.
The looks on the faces of volunteers at Marine Rescue and the Clan Lodge staff said it all today. They came to work fearing the worst. And so it proved.
“We knew the East Coast Low was coming, but not to this extent. We’ve survived them before, but we’ve never seen anything like this before,” Marine Rescue Terrigal Controller Cameron Sluey, a senior engineer who works for Manly Fast Ferries on Sydney Harbour, told the Express Advocate.
“Last April’s super storm came from the south, so we missed it because we’re right over to the nor’-east here. This time we were totally exposed and it was always going to hit us.
“Basically we’ve lost the front of the building, generators, fire pumps, all our tools, work benches, fuel cans, life jackets … it’s blindsided us. And the structural damage is significant. This will probably cost us in excess of $100,000 to get it all going again.”
His deputy, Czes Lawicki, had tears in his eyes as he looked at the devastating scene at the Marine Rescue’s crippled headquarters.
“It’s really gut-wrenching given we spend so much time doing what we do,” Mr Lawicki, a teacher at St Peter’s Catholic College in Tuggerah, said.
“Talking to some of the old-timers this morning, they’ve said this storm was as bad as the big one that hit Terrigal in 1974.
“We’re all volunteers here and members of the local community serving the local community. We take great pride in what we do, and you can understand how hard this is on us. We’re devastated.”
Over at Terrigal beach, debris was strewn right across the Esplanade. And for the first time in many years, the ramp out the front of the surf club was fully exposed after major beach erosion.
Just around the corner, the Clan Lakeside Lodge — built in 1967 — was ripped apart by the full force of floodwaters which also closed Ocean View Drive.
Management were too distraught to speak on the record. But they allowed the Express Advocate to walk through the reception and restaurant areas, which had been gutted by the floodwaters.
The lodge’s maintenance man, John Masia, just shook his head as he surveyed the internal and external damage.
“We’ve been wiped out here. It’s unbelievable,” he said.
Asked where he would start the clean-up, he said with a stunned look: “I really don’t know.”
Furniture from the restaurant was sent out the back car park by the surging floodwaters. Windows were smashed out, and carpets were soaked. Three room attendants looked shell-shocked as looked at the devastation.
“Where do we start?” one said, shaking her head.
MOST OF COAST SPARED THE WORST
GOSFORD SES Controller Rolfe Garda said crews attended 170 jobs with the majority being for leaking roofs and fallen trees and branches.
While there were some strong gusts he said most of the Coast was spared the worst because the winds were not as strong.
“The one thing that saved us from other previous events was we didn’t get the winds with it,” Mr Garda said. “Gusts didn’t seem to be as bad as it could have been.”
Wyong SES media officer Allan Benson said crews were called to 100 jobs since Friday but compared to Gosford and other parts of the NSW, the northern half of the Central Coast escaped with relatively minor damage.
“The most serious (job) was at Maritime Parade at The Entrance where a balcony blew off,” he said.
A wind gust took out a brick pier of the second story balcony yesterday morning causing it to collapse.
Mr Benson said no one was injured and crews were able to put a tarp over the front of the unit block to make it watertight.
“We were lucky, seriously, 100 jobs when I left yesterday, when you look at the northern region that had 4000,” he said.
Tuggerah Lake was expected to peak with a high tide at 10 this morning with further localised flooding around waterfront areas at Berkeley Vale and Geoffrey Rd, Chittaway Point.
“We’ve still got two crews out today,” he said. “We didn’t seem to get the wind in Wyong compared to the April super storm ... it’s the wind that causes the problems.”
He said the northern half of the Coast dodged a meteorological bullet.
“We’ve had three major events in the past 12 months we didn’t need a fourth,” he said.
The weekend’s tempest followed a horrendous year of storm activity, with the super storm last April followed by a white-out of Bateau Bay in October’s hailstorm and the mini-cyclone which ripped through Berkeley Vale in January.
CAN YOU HELP?
MARINE Rescue Terrigal is hoping the community will rally behind the significant rebuild it faces.
Unit Controller Cameron Sloey said any assistance to the volunteer-run group would be much appreciated.
“We raise most of the money ourselves to keep the operation funding, on top of what Marine Rescue gives us,” he said.
“But if people want to donate to help us get back on our feet, they can call 4384 3606 and we can provide details of where they can send money to us.”
He said the unit’s most immediate need was to secure the building and address the structural damage.
“An engineer will be coming today to assess it,” Mr Sloey said. “We’ll still be operational; the radio equipment upstairs isn’t damaged.
“To see most of it wiped out is heartbreaking for all of us. It’s an unfortunate thing that’s happened, but we’ll pick up the pieces and move on.”
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