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| Down Under |
| Wild Winds Lash Sydney |
| 2003-08-24 |
| Gale-force winds have caused havoc in Sydney, downing powerlines and trees, blowing rooves off houses etc. In Sydney: one man died when a tree fell on his car, search has been called off due to bad weather for two missing swimmers off the northern beaches. The Gale has caused damage all down the south-east coast of Australia. NSW State Emergency Services (SES) spokesman Peter O’Neill said the strong gale force winds which began this morning were expected to continue until at least tonight, then become moderate overnight. SES is our volunteer organisation. They don’t get paid but they have a lot of fun. They were busy tonight, backlogged with hundreds of calls. "A lot of trees have come down, also branches have come down ... into yards, across roads, onto cars, (the winds have) brought down power lines, and we’ve also had a lot of house damage," he said. "We’ve had over 500 SES volunteers out, and they’ve been supported by the NSW Fire Brigade’s firefighters. SES is brilliant, I can’t recommend enough to the Brits and Merkins how good it is to have a State-wide co-ordinated team of volunteers supporting the Fireys/police. It helps to clear problems up in double quick time. You could all start up your own volunteer emergency services! You get first-aid training, general rescue and communications training, protective clothing etc. All very useful things to have citizens trained in . |
| Posted by:Anon1 |
| #4 |
| Posted by: Carl in NH 2003-8-24 10:17:49 PM |
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| Posted by: Charles 2003-8-24 5:18:22 PM |
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| Posted by: Bulldog 2003-8-24 3:45:39 PM |
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| Posted by: .com 2003-8-24 12:08:37 PM |