Homes and community centre left in ruins after freak tornado tears through Bunbury

Bunbury has been left to count the cost of a freak tornado which tore through the city on Friday afternoon, destroying homes and a community building in its path. The suburbs of Withers, South Bunbury and College Grove bore the brunt of the storm which left seven houses, the Police & Community Youth Centre and two buildings at Bunbury Regional Prison destroyed. A further seven more homes were left with major damage and nearly another 100 with lesser damage. As of Monday morning, the DFES had received 136 calls for assistance. Only two people were hospitalised in the immediate aftermath of the storm, with a woman in her 30s sent to hospital from the PCYC building as well as a prisoner in his 50s sustaining a broken wrist. Both were discharged within a day. The damage also brought the risk of asbestos in the Withers area, with roughly three blocks of houses cordoned off on Saturday morning due to the potential health risk. It is understood the tornado began in South Bunbury near Hastie Street and moved east into parts of Withers and College Grove. The damage bill is expected to be in the millions of dollars, with more than 100 volunteer and career emergency services personnel, Western Power staff and prisoners working around the clock to clean up and mitigate any safety hazards. Friday afternoon saw 6780 homes left without power, with all power being restored by late Sunday night after nine poles were replaced. Corrective Services Minister Paul Papalia said on Saturday 17 low-risk inmates were displaced by the prison damage. For many residents, including College Grove’s Elaine Bartels, the tornado turned what was initially a wet but unremarkable day on its head. She was getting ready for a night in when the tornado hit her home, leaving it completely destroyed. “I looked out of my door and it (the roof) was just peeling off,” Mrs Bartels said. “As I stood up, this massive big beam has fallen on the end of the bed where I was, with big nails in it. “Then I’m trying to get into the passageway and all (the roof and walls) were just tearing down as well. It was just like an aeroplane and a big bomb — it was just horrific.” While Mrs Bartels miraculously made it out of the home with no injuries, she said it was down to her finding a doorway to stand in and protecting her head with insulation which had fallen from the roof. The terrifying power of the tornado was shown in parts of the house being strewn into the nearby bushland, including a steel beam sitting tens of metres from the house and a sheet of solar panels which travelled even further. Despite the near death experience, Mrs Bartels was heartened by the community response. “There were people here within no time, the lady down the road was amazing — she was on the phone calling the SES — and there were carloads here,” she said. “(Saturday) they’ve been back and they’ve been awesome. They came in to make sure we’re OK (and) we have a bed for the night. “I can’t speak highly enough of them all.” Less than 48 hours after the tornado hit, the WA Government announced emergency relief funding for the families impacted. Residents whose homes were destroyed or are now uninhabitable will be eligible for a one-off $4000 payment, while those whose homes suffered “severe damage” will receive $2000. Speaking on Sunday, Premier Roger Cook said the payment would offer immediate assistance to those hit by the storm’s “devastating impact” on the community. “These are payments which are put in place to assist people with the immediate costs of the extensive damage that they’ve received to their homes,” he said. “These payments will be available from midday (Sunday) and I’m thankful for everyone who’s been able to move so quickly to ensure that the payments can come on stream.” One of the lingering issues which concerned authorities was the presence of asbestos, with a Hazmat warning issued for part of Withers and Carey Park on Saturday morning. DFES Incident Controller Phil Bradrett said the priority in the area was to sweep the streets and eliminate the risk of asbestos being kicked up into the air. “It’s very important that we were able to get in there with the specialised equipment to road sweep and clean the roads,” he said. “We couldn’t have vehicles driving on the roads if there were any asbestos related materials, we needed to ensure the roads were swept and cleaned before vehicles were allowed to use the roadways in that area of risk. “I was pleased to be able to inform (residents at Sunday’s community meeting) the area we originally identified had been worked through intensively since the morning and we were able to reduce it by about 50 per cent at the end of the day, so that was good news.” With the impact of the tornado likely to last, a 24/7 emergency hotline has been set up by the City of Bunbury. City of Bunbury Mayor Jaysen Miguel thanked the community during Sunday’s meeting and said it was lucky there were no serious injuries despite the damage. “It’s a difficult time for many people, but there has been some various stories about people coming together to help each other out,” he said. “We’re very lucky there hasn’t been any serious injuries.” More coverage of Friday’s tornado will be in this week’s South Western Times