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FIRST-HAND
ACCOUNT |
By
CPL Cameron Jamieson
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LAC
Steve Edwards, CPL Kathy Steel and LAC Cheryl Philips rush
mobile steps to an B707 that has arrived with emergency
personnel and supplies at the Royal Malaysian Air Force
Base in Butterworth, northwest Malaysia, during Operation
Sumatra Assist.
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Photo
by CPL Cameron Jamieson
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FOR
members of No. 324 Combat Support Squadron in Butterworth, the
Boxing Day earthquake and tsunami were events they lived through.
Squadron
Leader Steve Laredo, 324CSS XO, said many members of the squadron
experienced the violence of the earthquake and saw the tsunami
hit Penang Island because of the nature of their accommodation.
“About two-thirds of our personnel live in high-rise apartments
on Penang Island in the Georgetown area,” he said.
“At about nine o’clock everyone in the higher levels of these
buildings was shaken – the 26th to 37th storeys moved quite dramatically.
This forced an evacuation of people into the adjacent areas until
the all-clear was given. Most people were able to go back home
by 9.30am, and then we started getting news reports of the earthquake
and tsunami damage that had occurred in Thailand.”
The decision was made to check that the members of 324CSS were
unharmed by the earthquake, but early that afternoon their work
was interrupted by a far more deadly event.
“At about 1.30pm the people living in the high-rise apartments
actually saw the tsunami starting to move through the Straights
of Malacca and down into Penang harbour,” SQNLDR Laredo said.
“Around 2pm the waves hit the beachfront areas around Batu Ferringhi.”
Sixty-eight Malaysians lost their lives in the disaster, with
most deaths recorded in Penang.
The telephone work to contact squadron members and their families
began again in earnest, and by about 4pm most had been located.
But two people were missing – Sergeant Daniel Butler and his wife
Ronda were on a diving holiday in Thailand in an area hit hard
by the tsunami. SGT Butler was located but his wife Ronda is still
missing.
The
squadron also started contingency planning for the expected Australian
humanitarian response to the disaster. “We started on Monday morning,
December 27, at 8am with a meeting at the CO’s house,” SQNLDR
Laredo said.
“We recalled everyone on local leave, including our locally employed
staff, and we had personnel prepared by 10am to proceed to Thailand
because initially the reports coming through were Thailand-focused,
with very little coming out of Indonesia.”
But as the reality of the situation in Indonesia emerged, Australia’s
response became focused on helping the Indonesians in the province
of Aceh and by New Year’s Day, 324CSS knew Butterworth would be
a major logistics hub for Operation Sumatra Assist.
While Army’s Rifle Company in Butterworth immediately placed their
manpower at the disposal of 324CSS, the need for additional air
operations specialists meant that a call for augmentees was issued
so the squadron could meet the challenges of the operation.
“324CSS is a very small unit, with a permanent uniformed staff
of about 35, and we needed to be augmented by 110 per cent to
make it work,” SQNLDR Laredo said.
“We’ve had to bring up air terminal staff, cooks, security police,
communicators, maintainers and tanker drivers. These people have
come here focused and determined to get the job done. They have
excelled in their tasks.”
Also key to the success of the squadron’s operations has been
the response of the Malaysians.
“They have supported us without hesitation,” SQNLDR Laredo said.
“They have offered us working space and living accommodation,
helping us in every way they can.” SQNLDR Laredo said the respect
between the Malaysians and Australians was mutual.
“The Malaysians have been directly affected by this disaster.
As members of the community we feel for their loss of life, too.”
