Madeleine King (Brand, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yesterday the Rockingham community in my electorate of Brand was lashed by a powerful summer storm that tore roofs from homes and businesses, damaged properties, uprooted trees and cause flash flooding. The wild weather came out of the blue on an otherwise sunny Sunday morning, and within 10 minutes caused some serious damage that will take many days to clear up. In the aftermath of the storm, the Rockingham foreshore, where I spend a lot of my time, looked like a scene from a disaster movie. The roof was ripped off an apartment block and the roof was torn off a fish and chip shop by 130-kilometre-per-hour winds. Trees and branches were strewn across parks, there was debris everywhere and power was lost to many properties. Lightning meant surf lifesavers had to close some of the beaches in the district, and by all accounts we were very lucky that no-one was hurt by the remarkable storm that passed through the area. I was in Canberra at the time, but did see the footage of my home beach, Shoalwater Bay, on Perth Weather Live, and I can tell you it was a pretty scary little scene down there in Shoalwater. Luckily for the residents the State Emergency Service once again were on hand to offer practical and much-needed support in dealing with the aftermath of the storm. The Rockingham-Kwinana SES took dozens of calls for assistance and attended more than 16 properties in the morning alone. This fantastic volunteer service organisation is always on hand to help the community in times of need. I would like to thank them and recognise them not just for their tireless efforts yesterday, of course, but for all the efforts they make in the district.