Conclusion
In conclusion, the overall cost to Kiama were within the tens of millions. From my predictions, and through extensive primary and secondary research on the topic of economics, and the cost of the Kiama area, an estimated cost of $17,800,000.00 was calculated to be the estimated cost due to the damages caused by the tornado that occurred on the 24th February 2013. The storm reached speeds of "at least 125km/h" stated Mr Andrew Treloar in an interview with the Illawarra Mercury. To calculate the cost completely, private information from every business and household which were affected in any way would need to be acquired illegally and analysed to discover all hidden cost which are unavailable to be seen to the general public. By getting a general concept of the cost of houses in the area affected, along with the cost to repair housing such as roofs, a approximate cost of $10,000,000 has been created as a general representation of the cost to the home-owners, and $7,000,000 from damages and lost revenue from businesses, however this is mostly affected by the cost of the Kiama Leisure Centre. $800,000 is prognosticated to be correct for the cost to run the assistance services, including SES, Firefighters, Police, Ambulance as well as the equipment they required.
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In comparison to the original hypotheses, the cost to the town, as predicted, has been a large burgeon on the town however some aspects of the hypotheses has been incorrect, and more unforeseen, underlying costs were discovered. Businesses did, as prognosticated, loss of income due to their closure however Road shutdowns to major roads were fixed very quickly, leaving only minor roads with asbestos on them closed. Kiama was not made inaccessible for tourist, and therefore, unlike how it was predicted, did not negatively affect the businesses business. Damages, especially to houses, but minimally to businesses (excluding the leisure centre which had the largest clean up cost of all of the businesses by far) did cause a large cleanup bill for the township of Kiama. Through the research of the topic, a hidden cost appeared in the form of food for the volunteers from across the south coast who assisted the recovery. If you average 80 people per night, over the 14 days of major work, covering 3 meals a day at about $10 per meal, the cost to feed these volunteers would be $33,600.00, in the first night alone, that would be a cost of $4,000 to feed the 400 volunteers, (SES Interview.) Although this cost was an underlying cost and did not greatly affect the results, it was a result which was previously unplanned. Along with the cost to fuel the trucks that drove to Kiama, volunteered to help out from SES around the South Coast, the unforeseen costs were both substantial and invisible unless searched for.
The Kiama Tornado had an impact that will affect the culture of the town, 46,310,400 seconds have passed since the tornado hit Kiama, 536 days have been since this costly storm first hit land, and the effects are still being felt. If you look up Gipps St, you can still see houses half destroyed from the storm. At the corner of Hothersal St and Minnamurra St, remains the standing artifacts of a home, partially annihilated. The Kiama tornado cost so many people, so much money and the economic effects to Kiama and their residents are extraordinary. However, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel, and this light is the sight of so many volunteers, united together in the common goal of picking up the beautiful town of Kiama and helping it recover and become the beautiful town it was before the storm, once again. The other main positive is there were no fatalities, "If the storm were later, while people were out of there homes... Yes, I believe there would be some deaths" Warren Turner stated during an informal convocation, and this shows that the town of Kiama, even through the terror got to experience the two main things that makes human's so special. Love and support. The love of family members, and by shear luck, having no deaths meant that no-one lost anyone they loved. The support of the people around them, especially the service man and women who helped repair the town showed Kiama the true colours of human nature, and that is what should be celebrated from the horrific events of the environments unpredictable nature, which had a large, negative impact on many people, businesses and servicecs economic wellbeing, and which affected everyone involved.
The Kiama Tornado had an impact that will affect the culture of the town, 46,310,400 seconds have passed since the tornado hit Kiama, 536 days have been since this costly storm first hit land, and the effects are still being felt. If you look up Gipps St, you can still see houses half destroyed from the storm. At the corner of Hothersal St and Minnamurra St, remains the standing artifacts of a home, partially annihilated. The Kiama tornado cost so many people, so much money and the economic effects to Kiama and their residents are extraordinary. However, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel, and this light is the sight of so many volunteers, united together in the common goal of picking up the beautiful town of Kiama and helping it recover and become the beautiful town it was before the storm, once again. The other main positive is there were no fatalities, "If the storm were later, while people were out of there homes... Yes, I believe there would be some deaths" Warren Turner stated during an informal convocation, and this shows that the town of Kiama, even through the terror got to experience the two main things that makes human's so special. Love and support. The love of family members, and by shear luck, having no deaths meant that no-one lost anyone they loved. The support of the people around them, especially the service man and women who helped repair the town showed Kiama the true colours of human nature, and that is what should be celebrated from the horrific events of the environments unpredictable nature, which had a large, negative impact on many people, businesses and servicecs economic wellbeing, and which affected everyone involved.