When Bob Katter describes his account of Tropical Cyclone Larry which hit the north a decade ago he recalls it as a time of devastation, shock and loss initially, then as a time of hope.
“It was a worst cyclone to hit the coast of Queensland since 1931 and Innisfail copped the most severe damage, with houses and buildings destroyed – 10,000 homes were damaged in the area,” Mr Katter said.
“But I think that it was also a period of hope as huge amounts of money were poured into the area which stimulated a brief prosperity, thanks to the highest amount of compensation ever paid out for a natural disaster in Australian history.” he said.
“We deeply appreciate John Howard’s decision in this area; it made a huge impact on the people who had suffered loss and damage of property.”
Mr Katter remembered with praise the insurance companies who were prompt in their payments, while there were “terrible battles” with others, advocating for claims.
“One of the insurance companies brought in rugby league player, Brent Tate, and it was exciting for everyone to see him, and that lifted their spirits.”
It was the costliest tropical cyclone ever to impact the country, at $1.1billion, surpassing even Cyclone Tracy in 1974.
“The loss of banana crops was a cost of $400m to the area. The cyclone destroyed 80-90 per cent of Australia’s crops.”
But it was the psychological impact that was the longest lasting, as Mr Katter recalls.
“One of my good friends, didn’t speak to me or anyone else much for six years after Cyclone Larry, and then he suddenly re-joined the human race and we were all so happy.
“The Mayor of Newcastle, who had been through Australia’s worst earthquake in 1989, called and said ‘The problem will come in two years’ - and I found that to be depressingly true. But some people, and they don’t realise it themselves, had their psyche changed forever.”
Mr Katter was quick to praise the workers and volunteers who worked hard to restore services.
“As pain and terror often does, it brought out the best in people. Many of those government workers were heroes.
“I twice came upon Ergon workers in absolutely teeming rain, reconnecting power. My intention is not to single anyone Individual or group out – all services did a fantastic job.”
He said ordinary Australians rallied around too help as well in the aftermath.
“I had not eaten in two days as I had no money and the ATMs were down. I will be eternally grateful to Inderjeet Singh who took me to his home in Innisfail and gave me a feed out of their scarce resources (in every home the cupboards were bare).
“I remember on the second night coming across a dozen cans of Coke that had been sitting out the back of the store for two days with no refrigeration, so I picked them up.
“One of the bakeries was throwing out a dozen pies and I took them down to the control room and tossed police officer Duane Amos a Coke and he said ‘It’s hot’ and then I tossed him a pie and I said ‘Don’t worry this is cold’. He gave me a dirty look.”
Mr Katter said lessons were learnt from Larry that stood the State in good stead when Category 5 Tropical Cyclone Yasi hit nearly five years later, in 2011.
