IGEM Report 1: 2017-18 - THE CYCLONE DEBBIE REVIEW

Inspector-General Emergency Management

Themes

Post-cyclone evacuation

Tourism is one of Queensland’s most economically important industries and contributes, directly and indirectly, $25 billion to the Queensland economy. The industry employs 225,000 Queenslanders, or 9.5 per cent of all people employed in the state. 126 Tourists tweeting about bad experiences as they wait in queues in cyclone-devastated resorts damage the reputation of this industry. The smooth evacuation of tourists is, therefore, important. Once Debbie had passed, the evacuation of tourists from the islands produced further challenges. Without doubt the destruction was a major contributing factor. Significant structural damage was sustained by the resorts, jetties, wharfs and other critical infrastructure on the Whitsunday Islands. The region was left with significant power outages – 100 per cent of Proserpine, 99.8 per cent of Bowen – which also affected the local water supply. Road closures were prevalent and there was extensive damage to the townships of Airlie Beach, and to the local government centre in Proserpine. Telecommunications were interrupted from the Whitsunday islands to Mackay. 127 Guests and resort staff – about 5,000-6,000 between Hamilton, Hayman and Daydream Islands – needed to leave accommodation that was without sufficient power and water. Commercial airlines, ferry operators, the Royal Australian Navy and bus companies were all involved. With the weather too bad on 29 March for flights and the Whitsundays pilotage area open late in the day, evacuations started on 30 March. Tourists and some accommodation providers found themselves caught up in conflicting information and parallel arrangements that had been put in place by the local providers and the local group. Defence Assistance to the Civil Community, in the form of Navy, assisted the relocation of tourists and staff off Daydream Island. The local group made arrangements to assist the islands, but were unaware of other measures that made them unnecessary. Buses were arranged in Bowen to take tourists to Townsville. When they arrived onshore in Airlie Beach, further arrangements were needed. Hamilton Island worked strenuously to avoid long queues building up at its airport with continuous free airport shuttles. By 9.30pm on 30 March the last of the tourists evacuated from Daydream Island to Airlie Beach were moved on to Townsville. This was all achieved amid the cyclone’s damage, by tired staff, and despite telephone outages. We heard, and have tried to convey, the sense of confusion, duplication of effort, and unanticipated problems that would not normally have occurred. We also reflect some dissatisfaction from the tourism sector with this aspect of the arrangements. But the evacuations did happen in a day, and amid the considerable other problems associated with the aftermath of a cyclone. The fact that they did is a tribute to all involved. The experience of tourist evacuation during Debbie, however, leads us to conclude that some arrangements need further clarity. The types of evacuation used in Queensland, the responsibility for initiating them, their implied liabilities, and their dissemination are not clear in the minds of many. They need greater discussion and understanding by all. If a police or other uniformed officer knocks on a door and talks about evacuation, many will conclude they have been ordered to go. Directed evacuations are not accompanied by efforts to forcibly remove people. The distinction between a door-knock about voluntary evacuation and one about directed evacuation is slim. If the two terms are to remain, greater efforts to differentiate voluntary and directed evacuation should be made in messaging, and feed into pre-season engagement. The tourism industry should know exactly what they mean, and what the implications are.

Recommendation Relevant authorities should work with the tourism sector to clarify future arrangements for evacuation. In particular they should look closely at differentiating voluntary and directed evacuations in their messaging, ensure the differences are explained to the community in pre-season campaigns, and that necessary information is passed on to tourists. Finding The tourism and disaster management sectors have different perspectives of evacuation arrangements and how they should be organised. There is scope for better understanding of each other’s perspectives and agreement on how arrangements will work in the future. Tourists will benefit if this happens.

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The Cyclone Debbie Review

Lessons for delivering value and confidence through trust and empowerment