Tiwi Islands community begins cyclone recovery as power is slowly restored
Politicians have praised community spirit on the Tiwi Islands where residents celebrated zero casualties despite trees crushing roofs and cutting power lines.
Northern Territory politicians landed on the Tiwi Islands on Monday to visit the community worst hit by Tropical Cyclone Fina, as authorities work to assess the scale of the damage.
Power to most of Wurrumiyanga has been restored after the power station was shut down after a tree fell on it during the storm, with teams deployed early Monday to clear power lines and reconnect homes.
Many trees, including several large African mahogany, hit roofs and power lines as they came down.
As the cyclone approached on Saturday local police worked for hours to shuttle residents to the designated cyclone shelter at the local school, some arriving as late as 9pm.
Between 200 and 250 people sheltered at the school, where the only available bathrooms were located outside through the storm.
NT Chief Minister said it was “not ideal”, but spirits were high in the community.
“The locals are really relieved that no one’s been hurt, they’re really buoyed by the fact Power and Water have been on the ground today and are continuing to turn on services,” Mrs Finocchiaro said.
“We should expect most of the community should have their power back up and running by the end of the day.
“The community stuck together, they did an amazing job, everyone’s in good spirits, and the damage really is around trees falling down - luckily no major damage to buildings.”
NT Senator and Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy thanked emergency service workers and those running shelters for their efforts.
“Residents on the islands are overall generally pleased in terms of their safety, but of course – like everyone who’s experiencing power outages – there are really stressful moments without power,” she said.
Originally published as Tiwi Islands community begins cyclone recovery as power is slowly restored
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