Residents affected by the crippling power, fuel, water and communication outages in regional Western Australia have spoken of the chaos and danger that has emerged in their communities.
Key points:
- Food and medical supplies have had to be thrown out
- Thousands are still without power in regional WA
- It's unknown how long the outages will last
Tens of thousands of people living across a huge swathe of towns inland of Perth were without power for two days after a severe storm swept through the region, felling massive transmission towers.
Compounding the issue was a summer heatwave, with temperatures soaring beyond 40 degrees in many towns.
Many are still without essential services as authorities work to restore the network.
Kalgoorlie-Boulder resident Iris Haynes described the chaos that ensued as the city grappled with the blackouts.
"I went to the local large supermarket, it was all in the dark, it was really eerie to go there, like survival mode," she said.
"Petrol stations were closed, and people had to drive to Kambalda, which is roughly 80 kilometres away to actually fill up their tank."
Ms Haynes, who works as a real estate agent, said she was concerned about residents living in older homes because of the heat.
"Some of the houses are really old, character fibre homes, and they're not well insulated," she said.
"You really rely on the air conditioning to help keep it cool."
Swapping biscuits for phone charge
After three hours in 40 degree heat waiting to fill up his car in Kambalda, local man Harry was swapping Anzac biscuits for the use of a phone charger.
Loading...When he arrived at the town's only fuel station around 3pm on Thursday, he found himself in a queue of 150 cars.
"The poor lady in front of me, she's got a few kids in the car. It's 43 degrees out here and this queue of cars is so long," he told ABC Radio Perth.
"I gave her some of my Anzac biscuits, and did a swap for the use of her car charger, because my phone had just completely died.
"Mobile phone coverage is really important. Not everyone has a landline and just trying to get through to anybody [has] been an absolute nightmare the last 24 hours."
Food, medicine thrown out
About 150 kilometres north east of Perth, Dowerin Community Club manager Suzy Crippen said they had thrown out lots of spoiled food.
"We've potentially lost about $3,000 worth of food. That could increase … until we get power," she said.
Ms Crippen said the chaos had put into perspective the vulnerability of her small regional town.
"Especially with all the technology being down until yesterday — it certainly made things a lot harder," she said.
Dowerin cafe owner Natalie Bear estimates she'll be tens of thousands of dollars out of pocket.
"The trade turnover loss would be in the thousands, and the stock is, we're probably pushing $10,000 in stock loss."
Kalgoorlie butcher Steve McKenny said he'd lost an estimated $100,000 worth of meat as a result of the outages.
"Not gone off as such, but kept at too high a temperature for too long," he said.
"I'm looking at these rumps we had to throw out this morning — I've been in the game since 1980, and these were some of the best you've ever seen.
"You'd love [to give them away] but the bacterial count — it's too hot for too long — you could make someone crook."
He said he wasn't sure the state government's offer of limited compensation would cover his losses, and would be approaching Western Power.
"It's pretty heartbreaking," he said.
"We've just been treading water today."
Health alert issued
A health alert has been issued as the region swelters through a third day of a summer heatwave.
Meanwhile, compensation is being offered to those who have experienced rolling blackouts.
Dr Michael Livingston, whose clinic in the Wheatbelt town of Narembeen was still being affected by power outages, said he had to book his family into a hotel in Perth to access basic amenities.
Narembeen sits about midway between Perth and Kalgoorlie – one of the remote towns unlikely to have power restored for several more days.
"I've had power outages in other locations before – but never this prolonged. This is certainly a new one," he told ABC Radio Perth.
"It's just another price to pay, to be honest, if you want to live in these communities."
Dr Livingston said he'd had to throw out $6,000 worth of vaccines – and the total cost he would be absorbing for damages was probably much higher.
"Vaccines, personal income, other doctors' income – I don't know, that's probably $20,000 – maybe more?" he said.
"You can't just keep taking this on. And that's why some people in these locations, sometimes out of frustration, just give up. This is unfair. You feel left alone."
Jewellery theft during blackout
WA Police Inspector Mick Kelly confirmed Kalgoorlie detectives were investigating a burglary at a jewellery shop, with doors to the store ripped off the hinges.
He urged residents to be patient, with extra officers patrolling the town's ATMs, banks, shopping centres, liquor shops and petrol stations.
“We ask the community to be patient [because] there are significant supplies now [and] everyone should be accommodated with food, water and fuel,” he said.
While there had not been a significant increase in anti-social behaviour and crime, Inspector Kelly was speaking to his counterparts in Perth about deploying more officers to town.
“We understand the community is frustrated but we believe with Western Power’s progress in restoring power…we are slowly getting things back on track and [getting] some normality in our district,” he said.
Full scale impact unknown
The full scale of the blackout's impact on businesses in the Goldfields is yet to be calculated, according to Kalgoorlie-Boulder Chamber of Commerce and Industry CEO Simone de Beene.
"All these businesses although they couldn't open, couldn't make money — they've still got to pay all their staff," she said.
"We make a lot of money for the state, and Australia, and we definitely deserve reliable power here."