Originally Posted by bee utey
Reply With QuoteFreedom of Information Act messages reveal police fears over civil disorder amid storm-hit statewide power blackoutPOLICE feared “civil disorder” as rattled South Australians scrambled to stock up on essential items during the statewide blackout, documents show.Increasingly dire messages shared between emergency services during the crisis reveal the true extent of how close SA came to chaos during the blackout last September.
As violent storms toppled pylons and plunged the entire state into a so-called “black event” at 3.48pm on September 28, messages released under the Freedom of Information Act reveal police warned of “civil disorder if fuel is not available to public”.
Authorities feared emergency vehicles would run out of fuel, banks were told to prepare to distribute cash as electronic payment systems crashed, many people struggled to access the “overloaded” 000 service, and service stations were the expected flashpoint for “civil disorder”.
The warning messages and status updates obtained by The Advertiser were sent to the South Australian State Emergency Centre, which was activated to co-ordinate the emergency response.
Within hours, dramatic messages were flooding in.
This included police warning to prepare for civil disorder as fuel supplies ran out, and a late-night attempt — abandoned until morning — to ask the banking industry to make cash reserves available for food.
As SA faced a busy work day without EFTPOS or credit card facilities, the State Government’s “recovery” expert told the State Emergency Centre: “Liaising with the banking sector about the availability of cash to communities with power outages’’.
Family First MLC Robert Brokenshire applied for the release of the documents, to better inform the public of the quality of response and the threat faced.
“This FOI has surprised me, as it indicated a significant amount of chaos and under-preparedness for a significant state disaster,” he said.
“While I do not blame individual agencies, we must ask what the government has been doing for the past 15 years across the whole of government to ensure we have the best management practices in the event of a whole-of-state disaster.”
At one stage, SA Water warned the State Emergency Centre: “No pumping or transfer of water, relying on gravity systems at this time’’ and Coca Cola was scrambled to provide the State Government with bottled water as Port Lincoln ran dry.
The messages provide extensive additional detail to that considered by former Police Commissioner Gary Burns when he released an independent review in January, including the fear that “civil disorder” loomed, which was not made public.
The Government engineering office scrambled to warn of a looming problem with the 000 service: “Telstra are still assessing transmission paths, if they have a genset or battery then the 000 service will be OK”.
SA Ambulance Service Jason Killens said all 000 calls were answered, and no ambulances ran out of fuel: “Despite an increase of 491 per cent in calls, 96 per cent of all those were answered within 10 seconds during the statewide power outage’’.
But the South Australian Ambulance Service messages to the emergency centre show how stretched resources were: “Currently workload exceeding resources available — attempting to recall staff”.
“Home users of oxygen seeking SAAS supplied oxygen while power is out — we cannot complete these requests.”
The service prioritised emergencies to save fuel and told non-urgent patients to make their own way to hospital if they could not raise help: “Information regarding restricting non-essential 000 activity and if unable to reach Ambulance to attend local hospitals.”
The Metropolitan Fire Service reported that it was stretched to the limit by elevator rescues: “MFS performed 19 lift rescues within the city and suburbs”.
It warned: “MFS operating at full capacity. Currently no capacity to provide assistance to support the control Agency”, and “Multiple public stuck in lifts’’.
As the 000 service became unavailable in some areas with the loss of landlines and mobile phone problems, SA Health told the emergency centre: “Maintaining services at power-affected sites. Maintaining message re attending hospitals if 000/landline not working.”
But hospitals themselves were running into trouble.
The Transport Department had to source diesel to keep some hospital generators running, telling the Emergency Centre: “Have sourced 700 litres of fuel for SA Health Calvary hospitals in Wakefield and North Adelaide”.
The Telecross Recovery Hotline hit a peak at 200 calls per hour, and messages to the Emergency Centre became more brief and hurried; the Public information officer stating only: “Reassurance messages being provided. 000 being overloaded.”
The Transport Department was overwhelmed when power was cut to electric trains and trams, and buses were “overwhelmed with passengers”. Drivers were told to abandon timetables in favour of safety and that traffic lights would “cease within the hour unless power is returned’’.
Adelaide Town Hall was readied as a mass relief centre by the “recovery” team: “Fuel for emergency services etc still to be resolved. PSSB presence arranged for Town Hall re temporary relief shelter”.
The worst-affected area was Port Lincoln, where the armed services were prepared to assist as it ran out of water and sewage services were under threat.
“Bottled water has been sourced from Coca Cola but will not arrive until AM 30/9,” one dispatch reads.
“Local Australian Defence Force units remain postured to respond.”
The Government’s engineering office scrambled to help the stricken town, with generators sourced from as far away as NSW. Even equipment hire company Coates in Victoria was asked to send units, which would not arrive for another 10 hours.
“Without power Port Lincoln to run out of drinking water mid-Friday morning,’’ the engineering office warned.
“Power supply will not be restored to until Friday morning. Generators en route from NSW and VIC but will not arrive till mid-late Friday and after connection will have power available early evening and water available at that time.”
Power was restored to much of Adelaide by 10pm on the night of the blackout, and most of the state was back online by Friday morning.
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