Whilst there's always room for improvement, I've been really impressed at how the various emergency organisations and the military have cooperated in putting well rehearsed plans into operation during the various emergencies that have beset this entire country lately. Katrina's death toll was around 1800 and thus far ours is less than 40.
Let's not forget the truckies and food organisations that have reduced the impact of empty shelves in our shops. Here in Nundah we did without fresh milk for three days and bread for two. Some fruit and vegetables are still out of stock, but in the main all companies have worked extra hard to minimise the impact of consumers. We are among the very fortunate Queenslanders who have not been directly impacted by the catastrophic events of the past couple of months. Many tens of thousands at this point in time are without a home, power and in some cases family and friends. They say devastating events play out in three monthly cycles - if not immediately then at some stage later. The mental health of many people will have been jarred to some extent. One hopes the services are there for them when they need help.
Many country communities are struggling though, since entire districts have been affected by floods and residual water still around a month later. One shire had 80% of roads and bridges washed away, whilst others have been without power for a long time. I took the time to mention how impressed I was with the shelves at the local supermarket and the manager was surprised by my comment but pleased. He said that they had been working extremely hard, and will continue to work hard every hour of the day to provide what we all come to expect as a matter of course when we step into a store. What an incredible country we are so lucky to live in.
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