LAST WEEK, in memory of the day that North Queensland experienced the biggest cyclone in recorded history, emergency personnel whose assistance bordered on the heroic, and locals who lost homes, cars and their most treasured possessions, gathered in Tully to mark the first anniversary of Cyclone Yasi.
The cyclone caused damage from Cairns to Townsville and many hundreds of kilometres inland, but none more than in the the communities of Tully Heads, Tully, Cardwell, Mission Beach, Feluga and Hull Heads where the nightmare lasted most of the night.
The breaking of dawn revealed houses and buildings ripped apart by 230km-plus winds or eradicated by a 5m storm surge. The only saving grace to come out of the hellish experience was that nobody was killed, but the scar it has left on the minds of the victims will remain forever.
For some the experience was just too much, and they have already moved from the area.
Others with no home and few possessions left had no choice but to relocate. But the majority have stayed on and undertaken the long and arduous task of rebuilding.
To honour the occasion, Premier Anna Bligh and Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swan attended a breakfast held at the Tully High School for the emergency personnel involved in the evacuations and recovery operation.
"Today is a day to remember the dreadful disaster and the frightening memories it left us all with. I realise the community still has a long way to go, but I will be there with you to help," Premier Bligh said.
Ms Bligh took the opportunity to announce that the State Government would be donating all of the relocatable buildings it erected after the cyclone to the Cassowary Regional Council.
She and Mr Swan on several occasions praised the "guts, determination and resilience'' of the people of Tully in the way they undertook the recovery.
Thanking the Emergency Services personnel, Mr Swan said that when he flew over the district the day after Yasi in a Blackhawk helicopter, he couldn't believe what he saw.
He said they should be proud of their achievements in the way they handled the "biggest natural disaster in the nation's history".
"I appreciate the opportunity to catch up on the progress that has been made, and although everyone is not at a stage where they would like to be, they should be proud of their achievements," Mr Swan said.
Mayor of the Cassowary Regional Council, Bill Shannon, thanked Mr Swan for earmarking $970 million for Yasi recovery operations. He said the infrastructure repairs in the shire would cost six times the annual operating budget of the council and there were still 1700 jobs to be completed.
"Jobs have to be assessed by council, tendered to engineers, then to cabinet for approval, and then to the relevant government department before they are started," Cr Shannon said.
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