All in a day's work

Today was quite a standout. Fred and I came to Warburton yesterday for computer training (sigh) and a specialist appointment (thankfully, nothing wrong, and the best part of that was the specialist agreed to see me, despite being non-Indigenous, thereby saving us an 18 hour round trip). This somewhat banal trip to Warburton, however, turned into an eventful occasion.

About 9.30am, when Eleanor and I were settling into playgroup, the heavens opened and it proceeded to bucket down. We stayed on playing with Eleanor's friend Nadia until the very end of playgroup, rain still coming apiece, and hotfooted it to the store. Went shopping. Rain still coming down with reasonable force. Shoes completely drenched, the rest of me not much better.

As we made our way back to the poor trainees in the courthouse (which was temporarily commissioned as our DCP training room), I noticed that we seemed to have a pretty strong current running in front of the station. Blocking our way back to the roadhouse. No problem, it will recede.

Airstrip: bowsers in centre, waiting area on left

Now, 10 hours later, one submerged airstrip and 23 houses inundated, we find ourselves camping overnight at a friend's house, separated from our possessions by a strong flowing new river (complete with partially submerged and stalled troopie from an injudicious attempt to cross). Eleanor is wearing Nadia's clothes and I'll be decked out in her mother's tomorrow.

Fred is exhausted in bed, after rising to the challenge of negotiating and handing out mattresses, blankets and food vouchers to the 100 or so occupants of the aforementioned houses. DCP is the emergency response agency in WA, so all the team - except me on daycare duty - were holding fort at the store with the all important house list and a crowd of expectant and somewhat bedraggled community members.

All in a day's work (better than training, that's for sure!).

Water on the wrong side of the levee bank

Photos courtesy of Nadia's mum, Toni.