In a remarkable display of community spirit, Coleambally has come together to help clean up and rebuild after a violent storm ripped through the area last week.
Described by some as cyclone-like, a path of destruction was left in its wake.
It hit mid-Saturday afternoon, with powerful winds and heavy rains that uprooted trees, downed power lines, and caused significant damage to services within the tight-knit community.
But what followed was nothing short of inspiring.
Within hours of the storm’s passing, the town’s residents — from teens to retirees — mobilised to begin the long process of clean-up.
“It’s amazing how quickly everyone rallied together,” said a local community member.
“Our community has always been strong, but in times like this, you truly see what it means to stand by one another.
“The volunteers have been working tirelessly, from clearing fallen trees to helping the school with making it functional.”
Despite the severity of the storm’s impact, the town has managed to restore order remarkably quickly.
Streets that were once blocked by fallen trees have been cleared.
While much work remains, there is a palpable sense of optimism in the air, fuelled by the strength and resilience of the town’s volunteers.
“We are a close-knit community,” said another resident.
“Seeing everyone come together like this is what makes Coleambally so special.
“It’s a reminder that no matter what nature throws our way, we’ll always have each other to lean on.”
The resilience of Coleambally serves as a testament to the power of community, showing that when disaster strikes, the best response is often a collective one.
The storm front stretched further across the region to West Wyalong, Griffith, Leeton and Yenda, with Essential Energy reporting almost 5000 customers across all communities.
“Essential Energy crews responded to a large number of unplanned power outages in the Griffith area over the weekend, as severe storms and destructive winds lashed much of the state,” an Essential Energy spokesperson said.
“At the height of the storm, more than 4600 customers were without power across West Wyalong, Griffith, Leeton, Yenda and the surrounding area from Friday afternoon through to Sunday, with major power lines impacted by strong winds, lightning and heavy rain, causing safety equipment to operate, isolating power to keep the community safe until crews could investigate any damage.
“Crews patrolled the electricity network to assess damage and progressively restored power to impacted customers where safe and possible to do so.
“As at 8am today, the number of customers still without power sits at 10, and we expect power will be restored to those remaining customers today where possible to do so safely.
“Some individual customers may require an authorised electrical contractor to complete repairs at their premises before they can be safely reconnected to the network.
“Essential Energy thanks the community for its patience while our teams work to safely restore power and reminds the community to stay at least eight metres away from fallen power lines, damaged electricity equipment, fires or trees contacting power lines, and immediately report it to Essential Energy on 13 20 80 or call Triple-0 if the situation is life-threatening.”
At the time of writing, not all homes in Colembally had full power available.
Coly resident Daniel Griffiths said he was out in his car when the storm hit.
While it lasted only a few minutes, it was ferocious.
“I had just left home and was driving. I had mum on the phone and had to get off the call because I could barely see a couple of metres in front of me.
“The rain only lasted three minutes.”
Mr Griffiths said while there storm caused a fair bit of damage, he said there were thankfully no reports of any major injuries.
He also praised the community for banding together for the clean up.
“It was great to see the community and council getting to work cleaning together.
“There were branches across roads, tress down at the school and a roof had come off a house.
“For the amount of damage, we are so lucky to not have any known injuries.”