Poor mobile service exposed
Authorities have backed the manner in which emergency warnings were delivered to Tathra residents in the moments before their town was hit by a raging bushfire on the weekend. “The first I heard of an emergency was when the cops drove past and yelled ‘Evacuate!’ out of a megaphone,” Tathra resident Janet Lewis said.
AUTHORITIES have backed the manner in which emergency warnings were delivered to Tathra residents in the moments before their NSW south coast town was hit by a raging bushfire on the weekend.
“The first I heard of an emergency was when the cops drove past and yelled ‘Evacuate!’ out of a megaphone,” Tathra resident Janet Lewis said. “Real old school.”
Ms Lewis, who recently moved to the area, said it was well-known the beachside town has limited mobile reception.
She said a new tower needed to be installed in case of future emergencies.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian insisted authorities did all they could to alert residents.
Messages were delivered via mobiles and also landline phone calls. Emergency warnings were very targeted, with some people told to stay and others advised to evacuate, she said.
“Because of the location, mobile phone reception is not always possible and I understand very early on some of the phone towers were damaged themselves,” Ms Berejiklian said in Bega.
“Communication was a challenge, but I’m absolutely confident we did everything we could as quickly as possible to get the message out.”
Rural Fire Service commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said authorities “talked for 24 hours or more” about the extreme weather conditions before the fire hit Tathra.
There were total fire bans across two-thirds of the state and the RFS website was regularly updated, he said.
“The teams have done a pretty extraordinary job given the circumstances. Our primary focus must always be the preservation of life and at this stage … something worked to keep everybody alive.”
Mark Crosweller, the director-general of Emergency Management Australia, will work with the RFS to make sure the right protocols were in place.
Bega deputy mayor Liz Seckold, who lives in Tathra, said flames were already visible by the time the emergency evacuation text message was sent on Sunday afternoon.
“Two mobile phone towers were out, we had no mobile phone coverage, and the electricity was out as well so we could not get any messages on our mobile phones,” she told 2GB radio.