Weather spares Torres Strait

Sunday, 07 February 2010 12:04

TOP: Saibai’s children play in the flood waters that flowed through their community due to the king tides. BELOW: The sea wall at Iama managed to hold the bulk of the tidal surge.

Favourable weather conditions spared the Torres Strait from any major damage from recent king tides, although the political storm over how to fix the problem continues to rage.

With cyclonic weather continuing to plague far-north Queensland last week, fears were high that a repeat of the disastrous tidal surges of 2009, whipped up by the strong winds relating to Cyclone Charlotte, would be repeated.

“There is only one person who controls the weather and that’s God,” TSIRC Mayor, Councillor Fred Gela, told Torres News in a telephone interview from Saibai on Friday, January 29, after the first king tide had come and gone.

“I hope God spares us so that we don’t have any change in weather in relation to the wind,” he added.

Thankfully Councillor Gela’s prayers were answered, with conditions remaining favourable to the Torres Strait over the weekend as the persistent Tropical Cyclone Olga continued to cause flooding across north Queensland, particularly in Townsville.

Reports of damage on the most at risk islands of Saibai, Boigu, Iama, Warraber and Poruma were few.

On the vulnerable island of Iama, local resident Wayne Beetham said: “It was more good luck than judgement which prevented this from being a disaster.

“With a 3.8 metre tide and winds below 15 knots there was no great surge of water, but things could have been much worse if the wind strength was higher and coming from the northwest instead of the northerly winds we received,” he said last Saturday.

Although houses were surrounded by water on Saibai, their construction off of the ground saved the occupants from significant loss.

But as the king-tidal flows ebb away, the political storm on how to fix the problem is only growing in strength.

Local state member Jason O’Brien has called on the TSRA to re-allocate money designated for infrastructure spending to be spent on flooding control measures.

“The state and federal governments have given the TSRA $56m for infrastructure and I think some of that money needs to be re-prioratised to deal with rising sea levels,” he said after visiting Saibai on Friday.

In return, Mr O’Brien said he would lobby to ensure that any affected projects would be funded in the next budgetary period.

But TSRA Chairman Toshie Kris has rejected Mr O’Brien’s plan, saying that: TSRA’s infrastructure spending aims to raise the standard of environmental health in Torres Strait communities by improving water, sewerage, waste management facilities, roads, drainage and related infrastructure systems.

“If we stop these works the life expectancy, health standards and future of the Torres Strait people will decrease to even lower levels as compared to other Australian communities,” he said.

Federal member Jim Turnour told Torres News that more research was required to find long-term solutions to the issue.

“I’ll be taking the issue up again when parliament resumes next week and talking to ministers to make sure we have long-term plans,” he said.

“Me and my people are waiting patiently for the government to look into this, (but) we’re frustrated, it’s such a long time now, we want action to take place.”

Mr Enosa said the locals have done some recent work to sure-up the 1970’s-built sea-walls, but without professional engineering help.

“But we are frustrated the government has never put money into building a proper sea wall. We want money and action to be done on that particular area where water comes through.

“I think our voice has been fallen onto deaf ears. When you see the money that’s been allocated [by the Rudd Government for climate change projects] in the Pacific... I’ve seen it on programs on the television. We are Queenslanders and the Rudd government should have obligations to fix this problem,” Mr Enosa said.

With Mr Turnour waiting for current research into the issue to be completed, Councillor Gela said that the plans to fix the problem already exist.

“The design and concept work has already been done and costed,” he said.

The plans, from the Torres Strait Coastal Management Steering Committee, have identified $22 million of engineering works that would specifically help to protect Boigu, Saibai, Yam, Warraber and Poruma.

But until the politicians can come together to agree on how to fix what must be the Torres Strait’s most urgent problem, praying to God for favourable weather appears to be the only option available for those whose homes and future continue to be threatened by king tides and rising sea-levels.