By Paul Dobbyn
A CYCLONE and an earthquake have delivered Rockhampton diocese’s bishop of less than a year “an unforgettable week”, and caused utter devastation for many people.
In the aftermath of Cyclone Marcia that wreaked havoc on Yeppoon, Rockhampton and surrounding areas and then caused flooding further inland at places like Biloela just days after an earthquake at Eidsvold, Bishop Michael McCarthy recounted his experiences of the events.
He was in Gladstone to present the first of a series of in-service days for teachers on February 16.
“I was staying there overnight when about 2 o’clock on Monday morning I was awoken when the building started shaking,” he said.
“Later that day, I discovered the tremor was linked to an earthquake at Eidsvold.”
Bishop McCarthy next headed up to Bundaberg then Mackay for further teacher in-service meetings.
“I arrived back from Mackay on Thursday night, the final flight into the Rockhampton Airport before it shut down ahead of Cyclone Marcia,” he said.
“Then through Friday morning, the cyclone hit … I’d been through some tropical rain depressions but nothing like this.
“I was in the bishop’s house and the power went off about 11.30.
“After that the wind just kept blowing … branches and other debris were blowing past at high speed – it was all fairly frightening.”
Bishop McCarthy was travelling with the diocese’s vicar general Monsignor John Grace on February 23 to meet with Church leaders in Yeppoon when he spoke with The Catholic Leader.
As with many others in the Rockhampton region, they were helping battered communities get back to normal life.
About 550 homes were damaged, destroyed or inundated when Cyclone Marcia slammed into Yeppoon and Rockhampton.
As of Tuesday, February 24, up to 42,000 homes were still without power in the region.
Remarkably Catholic school authorities were reporting that all schools, except for St Brendan’s College at Yeppoon, were expected to be open for classes on Tuesday, February 24.
Bishop McCarthy and Msgr Grace agreed it was a miracle that no lives had been lost or serious injuries sustained when Category 5 Cyclone Marcia hit land just north of Yeppoon.
Msgr Grace, who grew up in the region, said the only other cyclone of equal ferocity he could remember was in 1949.
“I was a child growing up in Midgee at the time,” he said.
“I remember hiding under a bed when it hit.
“The thing with this latest cyclone was not only how quickly it came and went but also how much damage it left … it looks like it will take months to clean up.”
Rockhampton diocese’s director of financial services Dean Smith, speaking from the diocesan office, still without power on the morning of Monday, February 23, said a massive clean-up was being carried out in the cathedral grounds.
Mr Smith’s experience of Cyclone Marcia had been frightening and one which he hoped “never to repeat again”.
Still recovering from the loss of their premature daughter, Immy, he and wife Jenny sheltered for three hours with surviving twin, Theo, in a walk-in wardrobe in their Rockhampton house.
“We got a massive shock when a neighbour’s roof hit the house at the height of the cyclone,” he said.
“Our roof now has a gash which needs urgent repairs before more rain comes.”
Mr Smith said there were hopes that the power would be back on in the diocesan office fairly quickly due to its central location in town.
“Some staff members are still without water in their homes,” he said.
“The heat has been stifling even at night with not a hint of a breeze.
“I’ve been thinking particularly of the elderly … it must be terrible for them.”
Bishop McCarthy said the recently renovated St Joseph’s Cathedral had come through the cyclone “more or less unscathed”.
“Some ridge capping and a section of roof over one of the side aisles has lifted and would definitely leak in heavy rain,” he said.
“We’ve already been contacted by Stuart Lummis, head of Brisbane archdiocese’s building services who’s offered to help access tradespeople with the specialised skills needed to repair the damage.”
Capricorn Coast parish priest Fr Bryan Hanifin said Church property around Yeppoon and Emu Park had escaped comparatively lightly.
“All we lost at the presbytery was a gate,” he said.
“There was no damage reported at Emu Park’s Mary Immaculate Church and very little at the Sacred Heart Church at Yeppoon.
“However, the St Brendan’s Chapel had part of its roof blown off and had some water damage as a result.”
Fr Hanifin said The Haven Conference Centre at Emu Park, being quite exposed, suffered some damage mainly to the roof but the Benedictine Monastery at Tanby was undamaged.
Biloela’s Fr Jose Joseph, parish administrator for the past two years, said his first experience of a cyclone had been “frightening”.
“The school and church seem fine although there are a lot of trees down,” he said.
“However, nearby towns such as Jambin have been very hard hit by flood waters.”
For Biloela parishioner John Walton, living just outside the town on the banks of Callide Creek, much of the damage was due to the release of water from Callide Dam.
“SunWater for the second time in three years let a huge amount of water out from Callide Dam in one big hit,” he said, in between rounding cattle up, after fences on his property were swept away in the aftermath of the dam water release.
“Some people even lost houses to the great wash of water along the creek …”
Mr Walton, who is also president of the St Vincent de Paul Society’s St Joseph’s conference in Biloela, said the store had not been damaged by the cyclone and was able to provide clothes and other items for those affected.
Rockhampton diocese’s Catholic Education Office advised that “All Catholic schools in the Rockhampton, Gracemere and Yeppoon region will reopen on Tuesday, February 24, with the exception of St Brendan’s College, Yeppoon”.
“Parents are advised there is no power at most schools and the decision to send students is up to them given the limited services we have,” the communication said.
