‘Priority’ rescue operation begins in Mallacoota as Navy ships arrive
A mass rescue operation is underway in Mallacoota, where hundreds of residents and holiday-makers are being ferried away from the town’s wharf to navy ships that will take them on a mercy mission sea voyage that could take up to 20 hours.
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About 300 people are now on board HMAS Choules as the mass evacuation effort in Mallacoota continues.
After stepping into the dock area the evacuees were given a welcome briefing before being ushered to the canteen areas.
The view greeting Mallacoota evacuees as they arrive on HMAS Choules â¦@theheraldsunâ© pic.twitter.com/vmmr0Yp12V
— David Hurley (@davidhurleyHS) January 2, 2020
Many hugged crew members as they stepped on to the ship as the emotion of the past three days took its toll.
The voyage to Westernport will take about 20 hours.
The ship is expected to set sail about 5pm today.
Lieutenant Commander Arron Convery, the Executive Officer of HMAS Choules, said: “Once people are on board our mission is to give them a safe haven.
“They will be well looked after.
“This is very different but we are trained for this scenario.
“The main response we are getting from people has been gratitude.
“There has been a lot of emotion and hugs.”
Melbourne man Jonty Smith is among 60-70 people on MV Sycamore, a training vessel that has left Mallacoota.
Mr Smith’s mum and stepfather have remained in the beachside town in the hope of driving out two cars in the coming weeks.
“We’re well on our way,” Mr Smith said.
“There’s probably about 66 of us on here, plus crew.
“There’s enough beds and cabins for all of us, so it’s very comfortable.”
Mr Smith said it was due to be a “long trip” arriving at Westernport about 10am tomorrow.
“We’ll get transferred into Somerville where we either be picked up by family or friends, or there will be bus transfers available to Melbourne,” he said.
By 9.30am about 100 people had been evacuated from Mallacoota.
Two Army LARC-V boats — vessels which have wheels allowing them to roll in and out of the water at speed — are being used in the operation.
The view from HMAS Choules back towards Mallacoota @theheraldsun pic.twitter.com/Ew2iAKpxwB
— David Hurley (@davidhurleyHS) January 2, 2020
Those with young children and pets made up the first wave of evacuees.
Elly and Damien Koster were leaving with their four children and dog.
“We wanted to get out before Saturday,” Mrs Koster said.
“The important thing is to be safe. We want to keep the children safe.”
The first two boats left the wharf by 8.40am.
Those being evacuated first included families with young children and people with pets.
They will be taken to a smaller ship before the majority of people are ferried to HMAS Choules.
Up to 50 people were also flown out yesterday.
Jill Heslop and Judy Jarvis said they were relieved to be leaving.
“We are just glad to be getting out,” Ms Heslop said.
“The fire might come back. It’s been traumatic.”
“Operation Southern Discovery” will see 1000 people evacuated from the
town today.
Residents and holiday makers will make their way to the wharf at Bastion Point and be ferried across to HMAS Choules in smaller boats.
They will then be taken to safety in a sea voyage of up to 20 hours.
The town was covered in thick smoke on Friday morning and conditions are tipped to get worse over the weekend with the mercury to hit 41C in the town.
They will then be taken to safety in a sea voyage of up to 20 hours.
When the evacuation plan was announced at a community meeting on Thursday, people sobbed and hugged under a blanket of thick smoke as they tried to decide what to do.
Sources on Thursday night told the Herald Sun an evacuation of so many people from an Australian disaster zone was unprecedented.
It is expected two trips will be needed, with two ships ready off Mallacoota. If enough people want to go, HMAS Choules will make a repeat journey.
A number of sick and frail people have already been taken from the town via helicopters and smaller boats.
Authorities are particularly concerned for people with asthma and other breathing difficulties, due to the heavy smoke in the area.
And there are fears high temperatures and a wind change could put the beleaguered town under further threat from fire tomorrow.
Thousands of people were in the popular tourist town when the fire hit early on New Year’s Eve morning.
HMAS Choules, which can take up to 1000 evacuees, will most likely sail to Port Welshpool in South Gippsland. Western Port on the Mornington Peninsula is also an option.
The journey will not be an easy one and Commander Scott Houlihan, of the ADF, warned people that conditions on the ship could be testing. People had to be fit enough to climb ladders and stairs.
Priority for air evacuation will be given to young children, the sick and elderly.
The ship has a few hundred beds but many of the evacuees will spend the voyage sitting on the deck for long periods.
People queued on Thursday to sign up for evacuation.
They were told it would be “some weeks” before the road out of Mallacoota would be opened amid a fire season that is already pushing authorities and communities to the limit.
Alison Cukier and Craig Thorpe, from Montmorency, opted to evacuate.
“We have got a 10-year-old child and we have to get back to work,” Ms Cukier said.
“When you have kids here you want to get out for health reasons.”
Laura Langmead and her husband, Nyall, were on holiday in Mallacoota with their children Mack, 3, and Evie, 1.
The Melbourne family was on Thursday evacuated on to a smaller boat at 2pm because Mack was suffering from the smoke.
“My son was up all night being sick. The smoke is really bad,” Mrs Langmead said. “We are currently out in the ocean. Mack has improved greatly with the help of paramedics.”
Others were left counting the cost of the ferocious fire.
Architect Christy Bryar lost the home she shares with her firefighter partner David.
When the fire hit, David was away, fighting to save lives and other people’s homes.
“It is surreal,” Ms Bryar said.
“To watch your home burn. Everyone is OK but it’s just heartbreaking.
“It’s hard. We are a small town and a lot of people are here for the summer.
“We have all been through a traumatic time.
“What we are going through is different to the tourists. Last night (January 1) they were having a (late) New Year’s Eve party.
Jann Gilbert stands in the remains of her Mallacoota home following this week’s devastating bushfire â¦@theheraldsunâ© pic.twitter.com/cazLK261P9
— David Hurley (@davidhurleyHS) January 2, 2020
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“For us this is devastating. We are losing our homes.”
About 70 homes are believed to have been lost in the town.
David Macfarlane has had a holiday house in the town for almost 40 years but watched it burn down this week.
“We stayed and tried our best with hoses,” he said.
“Then we heard the sirens and knew it was time to go. We have so much stuff here and we lost it all.”
THE PLAN
■ Thousands still in Mallacoota
■ People will be evacuated on HMAS Choules from Friday
■ The ship will be able to carry up to 1000 people per voyage
■ Two journeys predicted, but a third might be needed
■ Children of school age will be able to leave on the ship but families with babies and toddlers will have to be flown out
■ HMAS Choules will most likely sail to Port Welshpool in South Gippsland — a voyage of 16 to 17 hours
■ Western Port on the Mornington Peninsula is also an option, but that will take 20 hours
Representatives from Victoria Police, the Australian Defence Force and the Country Fire Authority have told four separate town hall meetings the plan for the voluntary mass evacuation of the town.