BY ALEX TIGANI
SES Unit Commander for Singleton Tim Merrick has advised residents to remain vigilant this storm season.
“We’re in ‘La Nina’ setting right now which basically means there is increased rainfall,” he explained.
“So, we’re looking to have a busy summer.”
Merrick has donned the uniform with pride for the past 12 years and has had firsthand experiences across many wild weather events including the ‘2015 Superstorm’.
Last week’s chaotic storm (on Saturday, October 24) may have only lasted less than an hour yet it caused havoc from start to finish.
“If you spoke to people downtown in Singleton, they didn’t know that people at Maison Dieu and White Avenue got absolutely smashed.
“But our crew did not finish until midnight that evening.”
The Singleton SES unit, which had 19 members on duty, were on hand for 18 callouts that Saturday and assisted one in Cessnock (the most in the Northern Zone that night).
Ten of these callouts were for damaged properties while the havoc caused at the Country Acres Caravan Park at McDougalls Hill (which saw 18 caravans damaged) only counted for one of the 18 missions in the tally.
A few other minor jobs took place at Singleton Heights, Hunterview and Elderslie.
“Moving forward we would like to remind everyone tomake sure that things are tied down, that your gutters are clean and all those particular aspects are monitored,” he concluded.
“Ultimately, have a plan in place.”
Anyone thinking about volunteering for the organisation can find further details on the NSW SES website.
