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| English: Coolum, Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
There are many times when some kind of
natural disaster wreaks havoc on a country and the long term effects
can be devastating. Not only do the residents have to rebuild their
lives, but often the local economy suffers as well. A few months back
I travelled to Queensland, Australia which you may remember was hit
by devastating floods in January 2011. The good news is that they do
not seem to have had a lasting effect in terms of tourism in the
region. All of the major coastal resorts such as Brisbane,
Rockhampton and the Gold Coast as well as the smaller towns and
islands along the Sunshine Coast seem to be pretty much business as
usual.
Talking with some of the locals about
the recovery of the area in such a short time, the overwhelming
response I got was that it is all because of the residents of
Queensland. The locals are strong and resolute. They were not going
to allow the tragic floods to ruin them. The area has seen thousands
of volunteers from the surrounding areas come right into the heart of
the most badly affected areas and start helping locals with the clean
up operation. This was a mammoth task. There was sewage and chemical
spills dangerously polluting the standing water so that had to be
removed first of all and then there was the task of disposing of
ruined furniture, toys, clothing and so on. The existing refuse sites
were unable to cope with the additional waste and so long abandoned
quarries were re-purposed as temporary tips. One of the biggest
dangers was that the destruction of some buildings had dislodged
asbestos fibres, so it was important to Queenslanders to get this
clean up mission under way very quickly to minimize exposure risks.
So it is business as usual for the
Australian tourist industry, but there is still much repair work
needed especially to roads which have been riddled with potholes
following the flooding. Donating to any legitimate charity flood
appeal will help repair them, but if the locals are to be believed,
these proud people would actually prefer that you just came by for a
visit keeping tourism booming allowing them to fund their own repair
efforts. So why not take a trip 'down under'.
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