IT’S amazing how a community rallies in an emergency.
We saw it in the recent bushfires and it was again evident yesterday morning as friends and neighbours came out in force to help each other clean up the devastation along Terara Road.
Not long after the storm hit, local dairy farmer Tim Cochrane was out in the dark in a tractor, trying to clear trees off Terara and Comerong Island roads.
Milbank Road resident Noel Eastham heard someone chopping a tree with an axe around 4am and worked to help Ray Pepper cut up a big tree that was blocking the road.
All this effort was to allow access for emergency crews into the Terara area.
The stretch of Terara Road between Milbank Road and Ferry Lane was closed to traffic but there was a constant stream of residents getting out to not only look at the damage but to ensure neighbours were safe and if there was anything they could do for each other.
Sue Weissel, whose garden suffered huge damage, was quick to offer her place for friends who were without electricity as she had gas connected that was still working.
With talk that it might be a long time until the power was restored in the area, as one resident put it, “Looks like the barbie will be getting a work out today.”