By no means is it the worst week of weather we have ever experienced and there is little doubt it won’t be the last bad weather we will experience in our lifetime. There are a few things that we need to acknowledge during these extreme circumstances.

The first is that we all need to taken action and care to ensure the impact of such wild weather is minimised. In simpler terms we need to batten down the hatches, secure anything on our properties that could get blown around, ensure our homes are water tight, rethink our travel plans and take care on the roads.

But perhaps the most essential acknowledgement should go to all the emergency service workers who are out about in the wild weather and are the front line of accidents, trauma and dangerous situations in any emergency event. 

Sadly, one Illawarra State Emergency Service volunteer died while in the line of duty in the recent wild weather. This SES volunteer was with a crew removing a fallen tree when he collapsed and died. The circumstances behind his death are not yet known, but the fact remains that this man was out in the wild weather helping others right to the very end.

They were on hand to clear trees from roads and houses, rescue people from flood waters and assist other emergency service operators such as police, fire brigade and ambulance officers at road crashes, clean-ups around damaged powerlines and more.

When you take into consideration the emergency service staff from the police, ambulance and fire brigades who also out risk their safety in wild, and often traumatic and dangerous conditions, that’s a lot of people putting their well-being and even lives on the line to ensure the safety of the broader community.

After a week which saw dust storms, wind storms, snow and catastrophic fires in Queensland, we know what extreme weather can dish out. And with the effects of climate change, our emergency service personnel and volunteers are likely to be called out more often.  

While our emergency services are out protecting and rescuing the people in our community  their families are at home fending for themselves and living in hope their loved ones will return home safely from another day of risking life and limb.