SES volunteer Amy Drage discovers new emergency tactics after responding to cyclone Seroja and NSW floods

Not everyone has the time, ability or inclination to devote themselves tirelessly to help others, but Amy Drage does and is part of that volunteer brigade we should all be thankful for. Emergency volunteers are a rare breed who tackle natural disasters and life-threatening situations selflessly and without fear. Not only do they put their hand up to help their own communities, but they’re willing to respond to help other states and territories in need as well. Amy Drage, 30, began volunteering for Geraldton-Greenough SES when she was 18, before she learnt how to change a tyre or use a drill. Aside from helping the community, volunteering gave her some well-received life lessons, too. “The training and the support with our orange family is always really nice. I just wanted to be a part of something and be able to help my community,” she said. Last month, Ms Drage went on a mission with several other local volunteers to assist their NSW counterparts who have been inundated with floods. It was a way to return the favour after interstate comrades came over to help us in the wake of cyclone Seroja last year. Assisting in the Seroja clean-up, Ms Drage was on the ground from sunrise until sunset immediately after the red alert was lifted. She also volunteered days prior to the disaster, prepping community members and filling sandbags. “Seroja was the first big scale event that I had attended, it was so go, go, go,” she said. “With a cyclone, all the damage happens and then we go in afterwards. We have a clear goal, I was handed an envelope at the beginning of each day with all the houses that I had to go to. And then we’d come back at the end of the day with notes that the jobs were complete.” Ms Drage said a big part of why she raised her hand to assist NSW was because of their help during the Mid West’s trying time. “Whilst I may not have met any of them, it was the fact that they came to help us and I really just wanted to be able to repay that favour,” she said. “There was a sense of calm when the help come to assist, we’d been going pretty hard for a long time and just to have that reinforcement, it was nice to know that we could alleviate a bit of stress and they’re there to help.” Comparing cyclone recovery to flood preparation, Ms Drage said the work in NSW was much more intel-based disaster preparation rather than recovery. “You don’t really know when you’ve got to move — or play your chess pieces right. It was a bit more slow-paced. It was still obviously very important what we were doing, we had to act quickly if need be. But I think I was ready to hit the ground running and build sandbags as far as the eye can see,” she said. “It was a bit more about doing that intel, getting to know the local community and ensuring that they knew we were there, if they needed it.” In saying that, the trip did take a toll on the volunteers and left Ms Drage unable to put the sheer volume of water flooding NSW into words. “We had to drive past it two or three times a day and by the end of it, I still couldn’t come to terms with how much water there was, even flying in, it was a massive amount,” she said. “When we went to Burke, they were on a flood warning level since about December last year. They were tired, so being able to go over there and provide some fresh energy was really important, I think for them as well as us.” Ms Drage said assisting with the NSW floods meant she had hands on experience with different types of emergency not as common to WA and gave her an opportunity to meet other SES crews from around the State. “It was nothing I’d ever experienced before, we don’t have those massive rivers and catchments here so being exposed to a different type of emergency was a highlight,” she said. Ms Drage said there was an enormity of community mindedness within the SES group, and she instantly bonded with the common goal. “It always astounds me to see what my fellow volunteers will do, they’ll push themselves to the absolute limit for their community,” she said.